External and Internal Perfection

We live in a world where perfection is of utmost importance. We have to have the perfect job, perfect car, perfect house, perfect cookie-cutter life. When we put this all together, we create our external perfection.

We all strive for this external perfection in one way or another. It's human nature to want to seem "put together," like we've got life all figured out. But in reality I think we can all agree that we probably put more effort than we should into making our lives seem perfect to those around us.

Perhaps we should wonder, though, where is this external perfection going to get us in the end? Where is all of it going to go once we leave this earth? I'll tell you plain and simple, it's going to stay right where you left it. The second you take your last breath, all of your material objects will become obsolete. They will mean nothing to you anymore, and they will do nothing for you. Your fate will not be determined by your car, your house, or your "stuff." Instead, it will be determined by something much more important, something much more crucial to your well-being. Your internal perfection.

Kindness, love, generosity, charity. These are the qualities that will ultimately determine our eternal life. We are all going to be standing at those pearly gates one day and we will be asked, "But how kind were you? How much love did you give? Did you give until you could give no more?" And we will have to answer each and every question with brutal honesty.

We will not be able to say, "But God, look what I have achieved. Look at my house, look at my car, look at my bank account." Our external perfection means nothing to God unless we have used it to benefit someone else. Did you use your house as a shelter for others? Did you use your car to complete good deeds? Was your bank account used to give to charity? If not, then your external perfection has gotten the best of you.

So let us strive for internal perfection, not external perfection. Let us strive for perfection in our hearts, not perfection in our houses. Let us strive for perfect kindness, not perfect paychecks.

In the words of St. Francis of Assisi, "Remember that when you leave this earth you can take nothing that you have received- only what you have given."