I am Imperfect

            The sleek, black, Batman looking vehicle bolted out of the subdivision, positioning itself directly in front of us. White smoke jetted out of the double exhaust, leaving us, literally, in the dust. "I guess he's coming out," I laughed. Then I smiled as I read the lone sticker, perfectly centered on the rear bumper.  "I am Second."  Oh, the irony!

            As humans, we have a need to belong. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, “love/belonging” places third, just behind, our needs for food and safety. We want to be a part of something, some church, some group, or some movement.
            A number of us are quite expressive. Some choose to exercise this voice by affixing various stickers to their vehicles. The sticker lets people know the driver belongs to this soccer club, this school or this church, share this belief or this cause.
            Lest you think I judged the driver on my morning commute, I did not. He actually made me snicker as I thought about the creatures I rub elbows with on this planet. We mean well. We really do. But we often fail while trying to succeed. We “promote” world peace on our car, but get into petty arguments at home. We try. We fail. We try again. We’re human.
            From their website’s home page: “I am Second is a movement meant to inspire people of all kinds to live for God and for others.” They did, indeed, inspire me today. I am going to keep trying to honor my Creator with my words and actions. I’ll try not to cut you off in traffic. I’ll do my best to practice patience and kindness.  However, a more relevant sticker (for me) might read, “I am Imperfect.”
                I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul as he spoke about being righteous, or perfect. “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV).