When Perfection Isn’t Enough

By now, I am sure you’ve seen it. It went viral almost immediately. Sunday, December 3rd, 2023, the Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff (CFP). The video of the team’s reaction while watching the results found its way to screens all over the nation in a matter of minutes. See for yourself here.

Dejected. Shocked. Deflated. Angry. Frustrated. Speechless. Rage. Mistreated.

Why? Well, FSU had just won the Championship for their conference (ACC) the night before. They had completed a perfect season, winning 13 games and losing none. The week prior, they found themselves ranked number 4 in the CFP rankings. Win the ACC Championship, it was assumed, and you’re one of the 4 teams playing for a National Championship.

Wrong.

Leap-frogging the Seminoles into the coveted top 4 were two one loss teams: Alabama and Texas. The perfect, undefeated team moved to number 5. FSU would be on the outside looking in. No Natty for the ‘Noles.

I’m not here to debate whether they should’ve been in the top 4 or not. I have my thoughts and opinions, of course. But that’s not my purpose here. I’ve watch the viral video of the team’s reaction a dozen times or so. And I, strangely, feel their frustration.

Not in the sense that I understand what it’s like to play — and win — all 13 games in a season. I don’t know what it’s like to strive for perfection on a college football field. But I do know what it feels like to reach for perfection in life, only to end up empty-handed. The reaction of the coaches and players in that video is a place my soul has been, and remains, far too often than I’d like to admit. I’ve wondered many a time, “What else do I have to do?!?!” Or, “Is this not enough!?!?!” Or, “Does anything I do and have done count?” It can be exhausting. It can feel unfair. It breeds rage.

Watching the FSU Seminole football team appear so deflated brought to mind the rich young ruler and his encounter with Jesus (See Mark 10:17-22). He brought a flawless résumé to Jesus. The young man said he had kept the commandments since he was a teenager. He hadn’t sowed his wild oats. He had been a good, law abiding, God-fearing man. A perfect, 13-0 record in the “keep the commandments” conference. But he wondered, would his perfection matter to Jesus, was he “in” yet? There was something bugging him. Though he had performed everything the Law had commanded, he still wanted assurance of eternal life. His record looked as good as anyone could hope. Surely the guy claiming to be God would peruse his résumé, give him some assurances, and let him in. It’s why he went to Jesus in the first place. He would ask the “good Teacher” and await his fate.

You probably know the story. After “watching” the results show, the young man walked home “dismayed by (Jesus’) demand and went away grieving” (Mark 10:22). His flawless scoresheet wasn’t enough. He kept all that the law required and he still found himself leapfrogged by others. What he had been working for didn’t get him a spot. His record didn’t count. The command keeping wasn’t enough.

Sigh. I wonder if his reaction was similar to the Seminoles?

Dejected. Shocked. Deflated. Angry. Frustrated. Speechless. Rage. Mistreated.

Just what was Jesus’ demand that left the man dismayed? “Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mk 10:21). My translation of Jesus’s words: “Young man, you lack one thing — and that one thing is everything. Quit trusting in your money and your religious résumé. It won’t work. There is a salvation beyond what you bring to the table. Look to Me to get you eternal life with God. Look away from yourself and look to me.” To the young ruler, Jesus’ calculation looks like an injustice, like he was robbed of what he justly deserved. But Jesus points him to a kind of justice that exceeds deserving, where what matters most is what is received.

In other words, if we really want relief in life, we will quit putting hope in our efforts and put all our trust in the efforts of another — Jesus.  We can stop going to bed each night and wondering what the CFP Committee (i.e., God) is going to do with our efforts. We can stop living anxiously, wondering if we’ve done enough to prove our worth. When it comes to life with God, we have had another whose flawless record exceeds our own, whose salvation is never earned and always given. Being in Christ means we never-ever have to wonder if we’ll be stuck on the outside looking in.

I can’t do anything to help FSU and college football. But if you watch the viral video and find your soul resonating, I can perhaps help you: look away from your record, hoping it is enough. Place your life in the hands of the one who has already won everything. And rest.