Josh Waller (@JoshWaller)

A principle that will serve you well is this: do not let the ideal destroy the real. It is good to have an image in your mind for yourself, your wife and children, your church, your government and so on, but you also have to be patient in real time. God is perfect and demands and works toward perfection, but He praises steps in the right direction, though imperfect. In II Kings we see the common words: “he did what was right in the sight of the LORD… yet not like David.” In other words, he did well, but he could have done better. Over and over again a king—consider David himself, by the way—will do well and receive praise from God while he leaves the high places of worship. We would do well to imitate our God. Have goals and plans and ideals, but be glad to make progress, even if slow and small. The problem arises when your ideal becomes a stick to beat yourself or others with. You have an image of the perfect husband or wife and when yours doesn’t fit the description, you refuse to be content. You might even feel justified because the standard isn’t being met. However, is this how God deals with you? For the sake of Christ, God is patient with you. He demands perfection, yet is glad when you repent from any sin. Do not be more demanding than God who is perfect. Be patient with your husband or wife. Be patient with your children. Teach, pray for, and be content with those in your life. In politics, we should have high standards, even perfect standards. But we live in the real world where men sin. This mixing of ideal with real leads to accelerationism. Things are taking a long time, so we lose patience and want to burn it down. But this is foolishness and petulance. A small gain is better than a great loss. Contentment is found when we understand that God is wise and rules well. We should do well and encourage and train others to do the same, but trust God with the results. Small victories should be celebrated. So, rejoice always.