Perfection is Never Achieved

by Raymund Tamayo

My wife and I were watching the Tokyo episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations when I was amazed by the Japanese philosophy on perfection.

By the way, this is one of our most favorite TV shows besides Friends.

It seems like everyone in Tokyo wants to become the best on their respective fields of endeavor; from cooking, to flower arranging, sword-fighting, making blades, and peeling fish skin. They are all experts and are all addressed as “master.”

The masters in the show seem to be saying the same thing when asked by Tony if perfection can be achieved.

Their similar answers: “Perfection is never attained until the day you die. That’s why every day we always try to improve.”

Another question: “How many years do you think it takes to perfect a craft?”

Similar answers: “It takes your whole life.”

I’m in awe of the passion, the discipline, the commitment, the delicate skill set, and the wisdom of these so-called masters of their craft. 

Even though they are “masters,” they spend every single day of their lives improving and learning more. Honing. Perfecting.

I can’t help but to compare it to biblical Christianity.

While still here on earth, we can’t expect each one to be perfect. We can't assume ourselves to already be a perfect Christian. To do so makes us again imperfect.

It takes a lifetime of growing spiritually until we meet our ultimate Master in heaven, to become perfect.

  

Ephesians 4:11-15

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.