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    As the vacation progressed, the vibration in the steering wheel grew more and more severe. I was hoping I could make it home safely. It didn’t work. When they first balanced the tire, they had only been off just a little bit. Unfortunately, after several thousand miles in the Florida to Texas heat, the tire was now about to disintegrate. I pulled into an abandoned gas station so I could change my tire in the shade. While profoundly irritated, I was thankful that my family was safe and I could do this dirty task in the shade.

    “It’s only off just a little bit.”

    Choose your topic or issue and this whine is familiar. Little mistakes, fudges, white lies, imperfections, and boo boos are of course understandable, aren’t they? They don’t really matter! Right?

They don’t really matter! Right?

    Much like with my tire, “little” problems, “little” bad habits, “little” sins, and “little” mistakes have a tendency to grow bigger and more problematic over time. Eventually they become totally unmanageable until they destroy the very fabric of our lives. In fact, many of our biggest problems began when we excused something wrong because we were “only off just a little bit.”

    So what do we do? How do we keep from getting our life out of whack without falling into legalism, pride, and perfectionism? I’d like to suggest the 3M approach!

    Model—Jesus is our ultimate model, but we also want to find good Christians who are mature and reflect Jesus in their lives. If we’ll look to them, ask them questions, and follow their example, then we’ll find ourselves in a better position to keep our life in proper focus and in balance. (Check out 1 Corinthians 4:17; 11:1; Philippians 3:17; 4:9; Hebrews 13:7-8)

    Mentor—Make ourselves accountable to someone we respect as a mature Christian. While it may take some time to find this mentor, it’s worth it. Prayerful waiting until the Lord leads us to the right person is an investment worth making. As we mature and age, our time to fill the role of mentor for someone else will come. Just as Barnabas mentored Paul and Paul mentored Timothy and Titus, we are to either be mentored or be a mentor. (Check out 2 Timothy 2:1-2) But first, we need to prayerfully search out a mentor for us.

    Mission—Seriously take time to work on our own personal mission statement. Then we can live our life by the priorities necessary to carry out that mission. God has put each of us here for a reason. He has a plan for each of our lives. (Psalm 139:13-16) Our goal in life must be to live out the work God has given us to do. Being reminded of that mission helps us keep the rest of our lives in balance. Jesus lived this way. How can do less and expect to live for God? (Check out Mark 1:35-38; Luke 19:10; John 17:4)

    While we want to be patient with others, we don’t want to tolerate sloppiness and irresponsibility in ourselves by excusing what is wrong simply because it’s “only off a little bit.” God longs to help us become more like Jesus with the power of his Holy Spirit. Let’s not settle for being “just a little bit off!”