Through the years, and I’m not sure where, or even when, I began enjoying the play on words where you swap the beginning letters of two words and use them as if they are meant to be said that way.
My contribution to this has been “Bappy Hirthday” for nearly 30 years. First, I spoke it, then emailed it, and now it’s what I say in social media… Some snappy people will reply, “Yhank Tou”…
Cool responses! I think we could keep it going for a while!
Back in my days of single digits, I remember the first time something like this popped up… my granddad was working on something and he muttered, “This is a mell of a hess!” I know I must have gasped, but his hearing issues probably kept him from hearing and responding. But it stuck with me. “Mell of a Hess!“
In fact, the more I think about it I do believe, and I’ll freely admit, speaking in code, these words are simply fun to play with!
Pobody’s Nerfect!
Where did that come from? According to the Urban Dictionary:
A conciliatory way of saying, “nobody’s perfect” that illustrates the concept.
It originated with Cracked and Mad Magazine in the ’70s.
The lines would go along like this: “I’m sorry, that was dumb. That’s OK, pobody’s nerfect….”
Okay… I confess. I remember liking Mad Magazine, but I’m not sure what “Cracked” was, or is…
This popped into my mind recently at the doctor’s office while waiting for my wife to come out so we could head home. All around me were people not at their best. It was early morning, so I’m sure some had awakened and simply showed up in their PJs. Others looked like their best grooming day was at least a week ago. And some were hobbling, or being pushed along in wheelchairs.
There was a lot of pain and suffering surrounding me, and I know I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I sure felt like I was in a better place than they were.
And it got me to thinking.
I realized how imperfect we all are. If someone from Hollywood had shown up I’m sure they would look as glamorous as you would expect them to be. After all, their fans may be in the atrium. A politician would look like they were about to glad-hand their supporters. But the rest of us? We’re so far from the limelight that when we are not at our best, we are ecstatic with our “lost in the crowd” mentality. Why?
Think About It…
There are times we do not want to be perfect. When we are hurting, sad, distressed or fearing the worst. We don’t need our Gucci’s, Hermes or Louis Vuitton (I had to look these names up!). We are happy with flipflops, baggy clothes, and unkempt hair…
Why? Pobody’s Nerfect!
When times are tough, we are often content with not being overly perfect.
I know of no one perfect, but, we should all strive to be more perfect than we were when we woke up this morning! It’s a great way to live… Keep striving!
How do we get perfect ourselves to become perfect?
Some would say we should dress better, and I would ask you about your personality! If we think it’s revolving around our clothes then we are missing the concept of what perfect is all about.
Perfect: “having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics;
as good as it is possible to be, absolute, complete”…
Notice… Desired or Required… Elements. Qualities. Characteristics… Says nothing about clothes, or a car, and neither your house nor neighborhood. Come on now. Even your career cannot define your foundation as the most perfect of all!
What’s Missing?
There’s something missing from our equation if we do not look within and define our character first! It’s that internal piece, without which, none of the external matters one iota.
It’s like that favorite Gaither kid’s song I love to sing:
“From the inside out, God’s looking at me.
From the inside out, I hope he likes what he sees.
[ Do you get it? ]
From the outside, I might not look so good,
but you might change your mind if only you could…
see me from the inside out!” [Source]
Do you know it? Are you humming it? In fact, you can hear most of the album… Click the link above. I’m listening now as I write!
What’s Your Foundation?
If you don’t know your foundation, then how can you identify a perfect life? Maybe you should ask what the foundation should contain? Have you ever looked inside your toolbox of life and searched for that perfect tool that begins to build your foundation?
The Apostle Paul tells us what that foundation is…
But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
(Colossians 3:14 NKJV)
Before you worry about anything else, first, put on love. King James calls it “Charity” and we often think that’s what we donate to others. But the word is only found in Greek and is only found in these New Testament writings. Agape is how we would say it, and it essentially means “love, affection, benevolence” and comes from the root word Agapao which means to “love much in a moral or social sense”.
Our foundation is nothing if it's not built on True Love. The Greeks called it Agapao: To love much.In a moral or social way, love with great affection and benevolence. Click To TweetThis should be our foundation. In fact, Paul explains it deeper in the “love” chapter of his letter to the church in Corinth.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:13 NKJV)
The greatest of anything he could describe that should be the bedrock of our foundation is not Faith or Hope. It is Love. For me, I hear these words – Love is the foundation of everything else!
It does not mean loving only those who are easy to love, but also loving those who are the most difficult to love. You do not get a choice. You must love equally to every person. Regardless of who, or what, they are. When we start letting our characterizations choose who to love, then we are simply imperfect.
And Nobody wants to be Pobody… Nor do they want to be Nerfect…least of all, imperfect…