Be Ye Therefore Perfect
Be Ye Therefore Perfect
By Angela Halliday
When I was young, my parents taught my siblings and me to memorize Bible and Book of Mormon verses. They’ve come in handy on more than one occasion. The very first one I remember learning was Matthew 5:48 where Jesus taught in His Sermon on the Mount, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.” I knew it backwards, forwards, and could even quote it in my sleep. However, what I couldn’t quote was its correct interpretation. Perhaps many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are like I was--unable to understand “perfect.”
President Russell M. Nelson explained it as follows,
In Matt. 5:48, the term perfect was translated from the Greek teleios, which means “complete.” Teleios is an adjective derived from the noun telos, which means “end.” The infinitive form of the verb is teleiono, which means “to reach a distant end, to be fully developed, to consummate, or to finish.” Please note that the word does not imply “freedom from error”; it implies “achieving a distant objective.” In fact, when writers of the Greek New Testament wished to describe perfection of behavior—precision or excellence of human effort—they did not employ a form of teleios; instead, they chose different words.
So, when Jesus taught his disciples to be perfect, he meant something completely different than what we in the world now might imagine. He didn’t expect us to never make a mistake. He didn’t expect us to speak, act, and be the finished product He helped designed us to be----YET.
Being a first-born child, Type-A personality, this command to be perfect (without a “perfect” understanding) caused some problems. In the following years in my drive to succeed at everything, I became tired and frustrated and bewildered and angry and discouraged. Fortunately, my parents and Church leaders taught me where my understanding was lacking. I often remark that I’m a recovering perfectionist. It generally gets a laugh, but that understanding has taken a lot of difficult work.
Many years ago a friend gave me a little sign that I placed above my kitchen sink that said “Good Enough.” This was not to encourage mediocrity, but to remind me that “good enough” is perfectly acceptable and maybe even essential as I complete “good” and “better” tasks. This gives me more time, heart and energy for the things that matter most (“the best”). And even then, I am not perfect. I never will be in this mortal life (in either sense of the word). I WILL be perfect (complete or like God) WHEN I make and keep covenants with God AND work and allow the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change me AND spend a lifetime and beyond doing the work the Lord needs me to do. So yes, the command to “Be ye therefore perfect,” will one day be realized because of Jesus Christ-the PERFECT ONE.
Perfection Pending
Good, Better, Best
Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually
