Saturday, July 19, 2014
Perfectionism
I read this article in the Ensign earlier this month: "Becoming Perfect in Christ." It reminded me of a conversation that I had with someone somewhere recently. (I thought it was on this blog, but I couldn't find it, so I guess not.) Anyway, I came across another good talk on perfectionism--given by a math professor at BYU last July: "That's How the Light Gets In." I don't know if this topic is relevant to anyone, but I thought I'd share just in case. :)
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Great talks! I especially liked Elder Holland's quote, “So, not failure but low aim would be the most severe indictment of a Latter-day Saint fortunate enough to be at BYU.” The difference between failure and low aim gave me a lot to think about.
ReplyDeleteThe talk on perfectionism also made me think of a recent BYU speech that I listened to. It's called the Our Book of Life by Kevin D. Stocks, a BYU math professor. I liked that it was kind of accountant nerdy and I thought he had some great insights. He commented on the parable of the talents and I LOVED this idea. Here's the quote,
"I have always found the parable of the talents to be interesting. In Matthew 25 the parable begins with a lord giving his goods to his servants. Verse 15 states, “And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.”
Notice that the lord did not give each servant the same amount; he gave to each according to his individual abilities. We know that the first servant worked to increase his five talents to 10, the second servant increased his two talents to four, and the third servant buried his one talent in order to preserve what he had. Of interest to me is the lord’s response to the first and second servants.
In verse 21 the lord tells the first servant the following: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
The second servant had started with fewer talents than the first and ended up with only four. But note what the lord says in verse 23: “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
The response to the second servant is identical to—not proportional to or in any way less than—that received by the first servant. It was not a matter of comparing the second servant to the first servant; it was a matter of each being evaluated for what he did with what he was given. So it is with each one of us. It is not a matter of being compared to others; it is a matter of what we do with what we have been given."
I am often guilty of comparing myself and feeling inadequate because I come up short. However, I like how the parable points out that the Lord gives different talents and abilities, but in the end, he still loves us and is proud of us if we develop the talents that we do have. Just something for me to remember next time I try to compare myself to others.
Anyway, thanks for the recommendation, Em!
That's really interesting, what you were saying about the parable of the talents--or I guess what Professor Stocks was saying... :)
ReplyDeleteI've wondered some lately what the Judgment is going to be like. I mean, I'm confident that it will be fair and all, but how will the Lord account for the fact that individuals are born in poverty with perhaps poor role models, few resources, etc., etc.? I'm sure some critics might say that God is unjust to allow people to be put in such circumstances. But one thing that levels the playing field a little is that we will all be judged by a different standard. The man with one talent and the man with five and the man with two all had different circumstances and therefore different expectations existed, but all could have received the same reward regardless--as long as they did what they could in their own sphere. The Lord doesn't measure us all by the same yard stick, which will help to make the Judgment infinitely more just. (This probably doesn't make a ton of sense, but is just something that I'm thinking about.)