Where Perfection Lies

The Hebrew conception of goodness was different than the Greeks’. The Greeks located perfection within the object itself. A thing or a person strove toward perfection. But the Hebrews understood goodness to be located between things… the goodness of the ties and relationships between things in creation.- Lisa Sharon Harper, The Very Good Gospel

According to Lisa Sharon Harper, the Hebrew approach to perfection was the more organic one. It was about relationships - how we connect with others, with creation, with God. In that view it’s awfully hard to ‘get it right’ - relationships are just not that way, right? Think about the ‘perfect’ romantic date - it totally depends on who your partner is, doesn’t it? There’s no one size that fits us all.

Perhaps this is what Jesus was getting at when he talked about righteousness. Traditionally interpreted “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” with the seeming emphasis on doing things right. But a more relational approach comes out in Eugene Peterson’s translation of that beatitude: You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat (Matthew 5:6, The Message). The hunger is for connecting with a person not accomplishing some moral program.

What are the relationships in which you hunger for more health?