A small voice cried out at the injustice of it all!
Do you remember the thrill of getting a box of brand spanking new, perfect, crayons?
You might get the BIG box of all the amazing shades. There weren’t too many things more fun than betting out a fresh, new color book and a new set of pointy colors!
I suppose we all had a box, I had a converted King Edwards Cigar box, for our used crayons. Those paperless, broken, stubs with strange shaped ends we could still use.
Two precious little girls were coloring when a conflict arose.
“She broke the red crayon!” One said with a shocked face, pointing at her sister.
“And we only have one red!”
Now, this seems trivial, but these were brand new colors. Plus, to add insult to injury the distraught little girl continued, “and now she wants the perfect end!”
Don’t we all! In a world of broken, misshaped, used “crayons,” don’t we all want the perfect ones? There is a well-used saying that even broken crayons can color, but somewhere inside of us we are searching for the perfect ones! We don’t want to be one left with all the broken goals, husbands or wives, marriages, friendships, careers, family, homes, cars, clothes, boats, 4 wheelers, trucks . . ..
According to “Health and Wellness” magazine, the “skin care and beauty industry is booming and bringing in over $90 billion worldwide.” (June 17, 2023). We are trying to keep our faces and the face we present to the world young and perfect.
The “American Hunting Lease Association” says hunters spend “roughly $27 billion per year on hunting in general,” to have the perfect hunt, perfect trophy, or perfect kill.
Now then, we need to settle down a little. Things don’t stay perfect if perfection is ever achieved. The leaves die and fall, the plants wither and die, the cars break down, the wrinkles come, the hunts lessen as we age.
We can be jealous of those we perceive have “perfect ends” on their crayons of life, or we can enjoy the blessings we do have.
Exodus 20:17 tells us, “You shall not covet. . . “
The ‘Song of Solomon 8:6 says, “For love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as the grave…”
James 3:16 states: “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”
Ecclesiastes 6:9 tells us: “It is better to be content with what you have than to always want more and more.”
But we can seek spiritual perfection in our fallen, imperfect world.
Jesus gave us a challenge in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”
What a worthy goal!
