We Saw A Mistake At Cirque Du Soleil! The Performers ARE Human!

Yolanda and I went to the new Cirque De Soleil last night, Luzia, and it was amazing. We always enjoy going to Cirque performances if they come here to Denver and have seen a total of five shows around the country. Every show is so different in their perspective and how they come up with not just the acrobatics but the sets are beyond me. There is an attention to detail that is amazing on so many levels. The lighting, audio, performers and the overall presentation make it completely worth the money if you can go sometime.
 
Of all the shows we have been to, we have never seen a mistake in the performances until last night. It was weird to me to see a mistake when you expect to see perfect execution every performance. It is like the presentation of the evening causes you to forget the level of difficulty during everything that is done that night. The mistake came during the juggling act. The performer was juggling six wands with no problem but to add difficulty, he threw one up as high as he could did a back flip and twist then landed it and caught the wand while continuing to juggle the other five. Now, it wasn’t like he was walking across the stage and tripped on his own feet into the orchestra pit as a clumsy oaf. It was probably one of the most difficult juggling stunts I have ever seen. He dropped the wand on his first try but then did the stunt again and performed it flawlessly. You could see the disappointment he had on his face that he made the mistake but everyone in the crowd cheered him on recognizing that it was a trick that NO ONE in the audience could even come close to executing.

The point I am making is that the expectation of human perfection in a walk with God can be a hard thing to live up to in life. Whether that comes from an expectation you put on yourself or family and friends have put on you. Maybe we had a family life where we were not allowed to make a mistake because we were supposed to know better. Maybe you have started out your walk with God expecting to never make a mistake again and were sadly disappointed. Maybe you are holding yourself to such a high standard in life that you can’t forgive yourself when you have done something wrong.
 
I am not saying that it’s wrong to seek excellence or that it’s ok to live “sloppy” in life. I am reminded of the verse in James 3:2 “We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” The point is that as Christians we are human and will make mistakes but we still need to be striving for perfection, which starts with bringing our tongue/words into submission.
 
Today, in living for God, don’t live a life of disappointment in yourself or in so much pride and arrogance that you don’t think you need to strive to be better. When our motivation comes from recognizing that the best thing in us is Jesus, we will want to strive for excellence and realize that in our weakness He are strong.