Better than It Was
Whatever
you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the
Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving
the Lord Christ.
- Colossians3:23-24 (ESV)
Today
I listened to a recording on NewLife.com about procrastination. The two counselors
giving advice had a good deal to say about perfectionism and the phrases and
attitudes our parents had. My dad's favorite saying was, "If you can't do
something right, don't do it at all." While his heart was in the right
place and he meant that you need to do things properly, for me, it meant that
if I didn't have time to do a task perfectly, I just needed to put it off. And as life always has a way of getting in the
way, I never could find the time to do many of the things I longed to. My ‘to
do’ list got longer and longer and more and more overwhelming.
Dr.
Milan Yerkovich talked about his own perfectionism and how his wife’s attitude
freed him. I love Kay Yerkovich's saying and will adopt it from now on: "It's better than it was." If I
can't clean the entire house and instead, only get to one room, well, it's
better than it was. If I can't write the entire devotional that I long to, as
long as I can get a few words written, my book is better than it was. If I'm
unable to read ten chapters in the Bible and pray for an hour a day, but have
time to read a few key verses and pray with a sincere heart, then my soul will
have been fed and you know what? I’m better off spiritually than I was.
Yes,
in my advancing years, I’m adopting a new, less perfectionistic, and less
stifling motto. I won’t be a slacker – I'll always offer my best, but my best will
be all that I can do at the time with God’s help.
The
Apostle Paul told the church in Corinth, “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 1:31b). I
have many goals, but I’ll never accomplish anything if I wait for the perfect
time and place. The key word for me is ‘Do!’ – not wait. Let’s get busy working
for God’s glory.
Now where did I put that list?
