Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9 NL
Raise your hand if you ever heard the phrase “practice makes perfect“? I am almost certain we all heard it when we had to perform our school plays, church holiday pageants, sports meets – almost everywhere and in everything. For many of us, we have been frustrated, at first, and then surprisingly joyful when we noticed how this repetitive behavior – in words or deeds – would result in a solid or almost flawless result. Believe me, it was NO fun repeating the same thing over and over. But I recall the moments my parents shot up from their seats in prideful applause after I completed the recital or crossed the finish line. It may have been the same for you. If you are anything like me, I imagine when those occasions occurred, we truly believed that practice did really and truly make perfect. We were super happy.
However, not only have we misquoted the mantra, we distorted the intention of practice and what it means, and we have also employed extremely unrealistic expectations on perfection. The great Vince Lombardi really said, “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect”. Recognizing how extremely memorable and victorious Coach Lombardi is to the football world, his inspiring quotes and speeches have made its way into boardrooms and family homes around the globe. Coach or someone before him, brainwashed us into laying our faith on our workplace promotions, annual bonuses or in losing those last menacing 10lbs. We fall for it! It seems our human nature chases after perfection and pride in one way or other, therefore, we believe in those inspiring words.
Sadly, we focus on the perfect but not on the practice. Perfect does have its place in personal growth so long you don’t take it too literally. True perfection isn’t really the point though. The big idea is that practicing your craft must be done with a level of respect for how you’ll always perform in your everyday lives. No ifs, ands, or buts. I’ll take it one step further…it’s about how you use your craft to serve others: living a selfless life, considering family, friends or strangers before our egos.
It happened to me. For some reason I indoctrinated “my” perspective about grinding and achieving that drove me into a good chunk of my life in perfectionism mode. Daily, I was chanting practice-practice-practice makes perfect-perfect-perfect. Consequently, no matter how much I practiced, I fell short, and I was undoubtedly dissatisfied. For over 20 years, I dug deep to be the best, the first, and the most accomplished. Sure, the promotions came, and I was recognized for my diligence, and I was not at ease. I was rattling my brain on how to meet the next goal and cross the next finish line. The feelings of happiness were temporary. You know if your happiness is connected with your happenings then you will be spending a great deal of your time seeking after happenings that make you happy. You will risk hours of sleep going that route. Today, as a recovering workaholic and perfectionist, I admit I was chasing after a lie. As a competitor on the field, in academics, and the workplace I sought after the goal, hoping my life would be perfect. Whew…I am so grateful I saw the light!
If we unpack the full meaning of this infamous quote, it had nothing to do with practice or perfection. The primary focus was that the act of practice, in the context of stepping out beyond selfish desires, is one step toward peace. In keeping with the sports analogy, I recall waking up at 5am to run laps, jumping jacks and stretches. In the beginning, it was painful and half the time I was jumping rope with my eyes closed. But over time of consistently practicing this same routine, it became easier and productive. In fact, the practice of practicing regularly allowed me to take on additional drills in order to enhance my performance, not for myself but for the team. I practiced with excellence so that the entire team shined. This discipline to practice is what has helped me to maintain my commitments and remain consistent, even to this day. So imagine, if sports was not involved and we decided to practice a life that would benefit your family, your neighborhood, community, or workplace, the benefits of this ethic would overwhelm you with joy and fulfillment. Let’s consider how different our lives would be if we did these three things.
- Adopt a pattern of behavior which encourages and inspires others.
- Acquire a mindset for greatness.
- Establish a personal commitment toward honoring God with your God-given gifts, skills, and purpose by putting them to use to serve others.
Webster’s defines practice as a noun and a verb. In the context of this writing, let us focus on the action word. 1.perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one’s proficiency: “I need to practice my French”
Note, the repetitive action is meant to improve or maintain one’s proficiency. There is no mention of perfection. Yet, we are compelled to achieve “perfect” and that is not even a requirement.
In Strong’s Concordance, the Greek word for practice is prassó – meaning to do, practice
Part of Speech: Verb
Definition: to do, practice
Usage: I do, perform, accomplish; be in any condition, i.e. I fare; I exact, require.
Even in the Greek, the verb use of practice points out what one does to perform…in any condition. Again, there is no mention of perfection or the motive for the practice. Just do.
I believe that the perfect that we are seeking is not the result, at all. The true goal is to practice (put into practice repeatedly) placing our dependence in God. Focusing more on the practice part and less on the perfect is the goal. Come to think of it, the practice becomes easier, if you practice regularly. Thereby, you become less anxious and unbothered by seeking after perfection. You wont even think about it!
According to God, He is not expecting any perfection from our natural selves. He is well aware of our flaws and shortcomings. He is looking for us to practice seeking after Him on a consistent basis no matter what condition we are in. God does not require for us to “get our stuff together” before we approach Him. Truly, there is nothing we can possibly do to earn our way to God. Ultimately, putting into daily, regular practice time for prayer, praise, and pursuit of his Words, will ensure the “perfect” peace we need to live a joy-filled life.
At the risk of Lombardi overkill, the Coach said it best, “When we place our dependence in God, we are unencumbered, and we have no worry. In fact, we may even be reckless, insofar as our part in the production is concerned. This confidence, this sureness of action, is both contagious and an aid to the perfect action. The rest is in the hands of God – and this is the same God, gentlemen, who has won all His battles up to now.”
…now what, Linda
now what, Linda? 