Paul's exhortation to "aim for perfection" is an appeal to resist the temptation to settle for too little. He wants us to understand that the undisciplined approach is an unsatisfactory philosophy of life. We must keep in mind that this exhortation was given to the Corinthians on the heels of trouble. In verse 2 he said, "I am giving you a second warning." Paul didn't give warnings to test their reactions. He gave a warning because the church wasn't healthy. Conventional wisdom says it's acceptable to let personal discipline slide during a time of crisis. Paul was saying that the very opposite is true. If it's crunch time, you need to put a priority on getting your act together.

Ina Duly Ogden laid out some great plans for her life when relationships were rather uncomplicated. She had planned to tour the country as a performer. She dreamed of performing before large audiences. Just as she was about to embark on her career, her father became an invalid and it fell her lot to stay home and care for him and her plans took a hard right turn. Dishwashing, sweeping, emptying bedpans became the routine around which her life was constructed. There was no travel to exciting places, no big crowds, no standing ovations. You would think that such an experience would be resented, but it wasn't. Out of that lonely experience of caring for her aged father came the inspiration for the lyrics of a song. You may have sung them.

Do not wait until some deed of greatness
You may do
Do not wait to shed your light afar
To the many duties ever near you
Now be true
Brighten the corner where you are.

THE GOAL OF PERCEPTION

A second important goal is the goal of perception. By that I mean understanding the will of God for your life. Paul had been addressing serious problems in the church at Corinth. Church members were listening to the wrong people. They had been deceived by the syrupy tones of the silver-tongued orators. The evil workers of Satan who masquerade as angels of light had misled them. They couldn't tell the difference between the wolves and the sheep. Having made a case for his own personal integrity, Paul sought to get their understanding back on track by saying "listen to my appeal." In listening to Paul, they were giving attention to the voice of experience and they also heard the voice of inspiration. By listening to Paul, they were able to tap into a true source of knowledge. Go back to 11:6 - "I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge."

Why is this important? In a time of trouble, we need to have the ability to discern and distinguish between truth and error, wisdom and folly, right and wrong. We aren't born with that kind of insight. We learn it through experience, but not just through experience. It's experience that's filtered through the right kind of teacher. There's no such thing as a self-made man or woman. If a person excels, he or she owes that excellence to a perceptive teacher. That's why Paul regarded Timothy as his son in the gospel.

Have you ever thought how tragic things might have turned out for Timothy if he had been the kind of person who wouldn't listen to Paul? What would have happened to Timothy had he been the person who said, "Well, he's not a professionally trained speaker?"

How much you learn and how much you grow in a crisis may well depend on how much you are willing to listen to the voice of experience, how much you are willing to take the sage advice of others who have been down the road before.

The reluctance of contemporary society to heed the voice of experience ought to concern us. The culture is convinced that wisdom has somehow become the property of youth. It doesn't matter whether you are talking about the church, society, industry or business, the trend is the same, toward a youth movement.

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