The Perfect World

As seen in the HEARTbeat and the Village Voice

“The Perfect World”

            Oh, how we wish we lived in a perfect world.  Even though we know it’s not perfect, that fact alone does not stop us from striving to make the world around us perfect.  We root for the underdog, we try to right the wrongs around us, and we try to do the right thing.  The operative word in the previous sentence is “try.”  Every day we make decisions to get involved, to say something, or to ignore the situation.  We drive past a stranded motorist, all the while looking into our rear-view mirror thinking to ourselves, “I should’ve stopped for that person to help.”

            Making the world a better place is an admirable quality.  But just how effective are we?  We give money to the beggar on the street corner only to see them in a different part of town on another corner.  We see posts on social media how some of these people get out of their luxury cars in an obscure parking lot only to walk to their assigned corner for the day.  It causes us to lose faith in our fellow man.  This scam actually does more harm than good, causing us to hesitate to give to those who are honestly destitute.

            I wonder sometimes what happened to that person which caused them to be in the situation they are in.  Was it something of their own making?  Was it getting involved or controlled by substances?  The reasons are as varied as there are people on the streets.

            The fact of the matter is this – we live in an imperfect world.  It was created perfect by God in the beginning, but when sin entered into the garden the world was made imperfect.  We struggle to move about in our daily routines trying to keep the world’s “sins” off of us, but we sometimes falter and get snared.  No matter how hard we try, no matter how much we prepare, there will be something we encounter which we do not handle the way we should.

            I’ve said many times bad things happen to good people.  We question God, and even sometimes we blame God.  But if we were honest with ourselves, we realize the majority of the blame falls on our own shoulders.  There is a verse I remember often, and quote almost as much.  Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

            Look at the words carefully.  Sometimes there is nothing we can do about a situation.  Paul the Apostle writes, “God works,” not “we” work.   We toil, we resist, we push back against the things of this world but in the end, we are powerless to overcome them.

            Jesus told His apostles on their last evening together, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  Have peace today knowing Jesus has overcome this world, and relying on Him is the smartest decision anyone can make!