Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Practice Does Not Always Make Perfect

We have owned our car since it was brand new. We were fortunate enough to purchase a brand new car back in 2003. When we test drove it, it had only 7 miles on it (now it is over 105,000). We bought in November of 2003, so I have been driving it for around 88 months.

I put gas in it 2-4 times a month, aside from trips. On the door of the driver are two buttons. One pulls out to open the trunk and one pushes to release the door to the gas tank.

The other day I was getting gas and pulled the door to the trunk. I probably do this about 50% of the time, especially when I don’t look at it. Part of the issue is that we used to own a car that you pulled to release the door to the gas tank, so I think my mind is stuck on that time in my life.

Eighty-eight months of having the same car and performing the same task (getting gas) and I am STILL getting it wrong much more than I should. One would think that after that long of time, I would have figured it out but I haven’t.

I think about how that can apply to us, as Christians. I have been a Christian for almost 27 years. There are things that I just learned since being a Christian, but I will mess up and stumble. I may also stumble again and again, unfortunately.

The cliché “practice makes perfect” was enlightened to me years ago to indicate that “perfect” practice makes perfect. In other words, we must practice in the correct way to have a habit of doing things right. I, obviously, have not been practicing “perfectly” to get down the habit of properly being able to open the door to the gas tank.

So whenever you see me shut my trunk at a gas pump, laugh to yourself because I probably pulled the trunk lever instead of pushing the gas door lever.

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