Hi friends… No Five Minute Friday today, because our good friend Lisa-Jo Baker is currently celebrating Christmas in South Africa (where she is originally from… How cool is that?!) So in honor of chill-ax Friday in this holiday season, I wanted to share with you an encouraging (and humorous) word about obedience vs. perfection. (Hint: God only asks for one and I bet you can guess.)
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When I was a pre-teen, I spent a few days every now and then working in a little country store back home. Jeanie’s was a tiny place with two booths and a menu that consisted of cold sandwiches or fried food. She also kept in stock the “necessities” for life, including milk, eggs and toilet paper. (Which was really convenient since the nearest town with a “real” grocery store was 20 miles away.)
On the cash register hung a sign with words I remember to this day:
“Pobody’s Nerfect.“
It made me laugh. And still does. I love the irony of switching the first two letters to emphasize that true, nobody is perfect… even the maker of the sign. (I love ironic humor, just FYI.)
Source: Deeplifequotes via flickr
Every now and then, that idea of “Pobody’s Nerfect” pops into my head. It resurfaced in my brain last week during my quiet time with the Lord.
I was reminded that nobody on this earth is perfect. Jesus was the only perfect man, the rest of us are kind of messed up. (Can I get an AMEN?) I’ve noticed that so many people don’t want to follow the call that God has placed on their life because they don’t feel that they will able to do it perfectly.
Newsflash: They are right. They won’t be able to do it perfectly. But God doesn’t ask for perfection. He asks for obedience.
Let me give you an example. Say that I begin my daily work out…perhaps a run. Sometimes, I just have off days. Why, I have no idea… Maybe it starts raining, or I can’t find my pace or I didn’t sleep well the night before. At that moment, I have a choice. I can do something and be obedient to the call of trying to get my body in shape, or not even attempt it because I know it’s not going to be perfect.
If I acted on only the things I could do perfectly, let me tell you what people… I would probably never get out of bed. I wouldn’t blog. I wouldn’t exercise. I wouldn’t minister to people. The list goes on and on.
Here’s the deal. God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called. Think to yourself for a moment: What is God calling you to right now? What’s stopping you? Is it your fear of not being “perfect?” How can you turn to the Lord to ask for help? I would love to hear your feedback… Leave a comment below!
Please remember, my sweet readers… God isn’t asking for perfection. He just wants obedience. He made you and He knows how flawed our flesh can be. He also loves you, has called you and knows first hand that when it comes to the population of the world that “Pobody’s Nerfect.” But… We ALL can be obedient.
Living life as a nerfect pobody,
SGK
“And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.” ~James 3:2 (MSG)
PS: Colony Foods (Jeanie’s), which this post was written about, as well as our local Country Diner recently caught fire and burnt down. This is quite the blow to our small town of 300 people. Many memories were made in both places and will never be forgotten. Won’t you please pray for the owners and the resident’s of my hometown? Thanks.
