This is a photo of the Palace of Versailles in France. It is lavish, (yes there really are gold gates at the palace), stunning, and awe inspiring.
It's most notable owner was King Louis XIV, who took the place from a mere hunting lodge to a Palace that lodged the King as well as the French court. He was known as the Roi-Soleil (the Sun King) and you see this theme throughout the palace with likenesses of the king carved into the center of the sun (like in the photo above). This idea stemmed from his belief that he was God chosen to be King and therefore answered to no one but God.
The floors are spectacular.
The rooms are lavish.
It draws visitors with its architectural grandeur.
Everything was done by the "best" artists of the time. The best painters, sculptors, architects, and gardeners. Nothing short of perfection was acceptable.
Opulence abounds.
Even the gardens are laid out perfectly. The king was involved in every detail, wanting it to be perfect. He desired to show the world his ultimate power. His exacting landscape design was meant to show that he even had power over nature. To this day, Versailles is associated with the Sun King. It still bears the standard for perfectionism in architecture, art, landscape, wealth, abundance and power.
But all that perfectionism, all that beauty, all that wealth and power did not necessarily make life good for the people of France.
Let's step away from Versailles for a moment and instead look at the word good. The basic definition in the dictionary is "to be desired or approved of, having the qualities required for a specific role, that which is morally right, or to be well." Notice the lack of the word perfect in any of the mentioned definitions.
Let's take another step and go to one of the first stories in the Bible to mention the word good, Genesis 1:31. It says, ""God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." I have always wondered at that wording. I mean, what God did was pretty incredible-- he created a whole world, full of amazing creatures and beautiful landscapes, and the only words used to describe all of this was "very good?" Not perfect, not fabulous, not marvelous, not superlative, not even exceptional. Very good, that's what it says. Simply that.
The other fact I find interesting about this small piece of the story, is that God, being who He is, knew what was to come from his creation. He knew that people would mess up this paradise he had worked so hard to create. He knew that his creation would one day kill his own son, Jesus. And even with all of that knowledge, he still looked at it and called it not just good, but very good.
I believe that this small piece of scripture contains a key truth about life. That good doesn't mean perfect. A good life is not a perfect life. Perfection in all things is unattainable at best, and unsustainable. No one's life is perfect. But everyone can have a good life.
I am striving to have a good life, not a perfect one. Don't get me wrong, I try to do things to the best of my ability, but my ability for perfection in everything is sorely lacking. And I find when I strive for perfection and miss the mark, it brings with it worry, and worry cannot reside with a sense of goodness. Philippians says it this way,
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. before you know it, a sense of Gods wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-- the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and what you saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies." Philippians 4:6-9 the message.
By acknowledging that life isn't meant to be perfect, we free ourselves to let life be good. Even when life is hard, it still can be good if we take the time to stop and truly think about all the good around in our lives. Some people call this mindfulness, some people call this process reflection, the verses above simply refer to controlling your thought process. Whatever you want to call it, I dare you to try it. If you are feeling today like your life is not good, but everyone else's life is perfect, try thinking on those things mentioned in Philippians. Start small if you have to... the fact that you have someone or something in your life that you love is a step towards recognizing that there is goodness in your life. It is a shifting of your focus. I am a firm believer in the whole you see what you look for aspect of life. This is not a put your head in the sand mentality, ignoring things that are bad. Not at all, in fact in the first part of the scripture above encourages you to pray about the aspects of your life that are not good. It still allows for you to acknowledge the hard, while also focusing on the good.
The other aspect of this whole process I want to point out is that it doesn't say that God will make the problem go away. Sometimes this happens and we should rejoice. But often, the hard facets of life do not just miraculously go away, we have to instead find a way to deal with them. And God, in his mercy lets us know that he is there to help us out by giving us peace.
So, I try every day to remember that while I do not have a perfect life, I have a good one. Don't get caught up in looking at what you think of as others "perfect lives." There is no such thing. But instead, focus on the good in your life, and see what happens. My guess is that you will start to feel lighter, even if your circumstances do not change.
I'll circle back around to Versailles. Although outwardly the architecture and gardens of Versailles are arguably perfect to behold, they failed to hide or wipe away the imperfections that France faced. Poverty of the common people, famine, and greed still existed, and eventually brought about the downfall of the monarchy. Even the Sun King couldn't conform the entirety of a nation to his vision of perfection.
I'll leave you with a few more photos from this amazing palace. Hope you have a good day (not a perfect one, but good still the same).
