It happened again. I promised it wouldn’t, but it did.
Whenever my friends and I hung out, we somehow always found somebody to make fun of. It made us feel good. And my buddies cracked such funny jokes that, in the heat of the moment, I had to join in.
Later, my conscience unnerved me. Ridicule bruises people, and I knew it was wrong. Even in the moment, when I saw our victim’s face, I knew I shouldn’t join in. Christians are supposed to look out for others — even those we don’t know — not tear them down.
As I thought about our latest episode of ripping someone apart, I felt convicted about the harm we had inflicted. I needed to stop mocking others. I was wrong, and I needed to change.
But I also writhed in frustration, like a prisoner who squirms to get free from taut ropes but only wearies himself. I had sworn I would stop many times but always went back to my old habits.
I told myself this time would be different: I’ll never go back to sin again. I may have sinned in the past, but from here on, I will obey God in every situation.
Flirting with Perfection
Many of us long to obey God every moment. But is that Christianity’s focal point?
Learning to make good choices is a vital part of Christianity, but that doesn’t mean we can get to a point where we will always do what’s right in this life.
I used to think I could attain perfection — not that I hadn’t sinned in the past, but that I would never sin again in the future. Christianity equaled morality. I believed if I just tried hard enough, I could reach the status of the “good Christian.”
Someday, we will be like Him and never sin again. We long for that day, don’t we? We look forward to a time when parents won’t rage at their children, when friends won’t betray us, when we won’t make fun of others. For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, we’ll be perfect when we meet Jesus Christ. That day, “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
But until that day comes, we continue our lives on this earth, plagued by our tendency toward sin. We’ll see perfection in another lifetime, but in this current sphere, our goal should be different.
Learning from Paul’s Life
The apostle Paul wrestled with these very issues in his life, too. How do we live new lives without getting pulled down by our failures?
Paul recognized something I didn’t: He had never and would never attain perfection in this lifetime. He wrote, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect,” meaning he had never become complete and mature (Philippians 3:12).
Instead, the apostle had a realistic picture of himself. He knew that because he was human, he had an innate tendency to sin. Even with the life-changing power of Christ in his life, Paul recognized he wouldn’t reach perfection on this side of eternity. Jesus’ death delivered him from the powerful reign of sin and death, but the finality of that deliverance would only come after this earthly life.
We have to learn this same perspective. As weak, imperfect humans, we run the risk of messing up — even when we promise not to.
But Paul didn’t let this stop him from pursuing obedience. Instead, while maintaining an accurate picture of his humanity, Paul made his goal to live a changed life. Even though he hadn’t made it yet, he said, “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 3:13–14).
Paul had a single focus. He didn’t despair in his sin. When he messed up, he found God’s forgiveness and got back on track. When you’re in a race, you may trip, but you can still make the finish line if you get back up and keep running.
The apostle left the past in the past because God had forgiven it. And then with every ounce of strength, Paul strained to follow Christ — to obey and to love Him.
Paul provides an example for us. I, too, needed to realize God denounced my mockery of others and I needed to change. But I also had to understand that as I sought to obey Christ, I could still trip along the way. I had to keep getting back up and keep straining diligently to follow Christ (Philippians 3:16).
Learning From Paul’s Teaching
This type of living frees us from excessive frustration in the Christian life. But some people use it as an excuse to keep sinning. They miss the whole point. Paul teaches that while God gives us truckloads of grace to gradually grow in Christian behavior, He never excuses sin: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2).
When Paul says “By no means!” he is basically saying, “That’s absolutely ridiculous!” We shouldn’t go on sinning because we have a new identity in Christ. We’re dead to sin. Dead means there’s no wiggle in the toes. Not only are we dead to sin; sin is a corpse to us.
“But wait,” you say. “You said that we still struggle with sin in this life.”
Yes, as we all know, we still wrestle with sin in the earthly sphere. But with our new identity, even though we struggle, sin has basically been murdered in our lives. We just won’t experience the complete overcoming of sin until we meet the Lord in heaven.
And that is the reason why, in this life, God calls us to “not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness” (Romans 6:13).
Traveling a Realistic Road to Change
So how do we live the Christian life without frustration? It’s like going on a road trip. Whenever you go on a journey, you need a few things to make the trip successful. You need a destination, you need a vehicle, you need to know the rules of the road, and you need to have a realistic idea about how long it will take to get there.
The same is true with the Christian life. Our destination is heaven, a place that sin will never touch, a place where we will be free from doing wrong. Our vehicle is the Holy Spirit, who transforms us along the journey, preparing us for our destination. We find the rules of the road in the Scriptures, which teach us how to live and change our behavior on this earth. As we journey, we must keep a realistic idea about our trip, recognizing we won’t be perfect here but will enjoy perfection when we reach our destination.
I had to learn these road rules as I struggled with my sin of mocking others. I needed to follow the rule book and stop hanging out with other (Christian) teens who constantly ridiculed others because “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33). I had to rely on the Spirit to change me as I sought to obey God’s Word. And I needed to recognize I might mess up again. Only then could I live the Christian life free from frustration. 
