Will I make heaven if I don’t keep God’s laws perfectly?

Answer:

Let's start with riches. The Bible does not say that being rich is wrong. Instead, the instruction for those who are rich is: "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life" (I Timothy 6:17-19). What God does say is that chasing after riches is dangerous. "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (I Timothy 6:10). Seen this way, it doesn't the quantity is irrelevant.

In regard to perfectionism, Solomon warned, "Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself? Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time? It is good that you grasp this, and also not remove your hand from the other; for he who fears God will escape them all" (Ecclesiastes 7:16-18). See Extremes for a detailed explanation of this passage.

As the topic of riches, you are taking an attitude toward a subject and then trying to quantify it. Christians are to reject sin. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Romans 6:1-2). However, at the same time, Christians understand that perfect law-keeping cannot be achieved. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (I John 1:8-2:1). So, instead of looking to live perfectly, what a Christian strives to do is improve throughout his life because he wants to be pleasing to God.

Think about it in terms of an athlete. In any sport, an athlete strives to execute his moves perfectly and yet knows that he will make mistakes. Those mistakes just are reminders that there are things he needs to work on in order to improve. If he focuses on the mistakes, beating himself up for his mistakes, he never makes progress. But if he doesn't accept mistakes and strives to fix them, then he becomes a better athlete. "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified" (I Corinthians 9:24-27). The good athlete has a purpose and a goal -- not in perfectionism but in winning.

In the same way, a Christian's goal is pleasing God. Sin isn't acceptable, even though it happens. "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls" (Hebrews 12:1-3). But like the athlete, the Christian can't focus on the sins but on the goal. The aim is to improve and not to be complacent about sin.

All of this means learning. In truth, being a Christian is a lifetime of learning. "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (I Peter 2:1-3). As you learn, you make adjustments in your life to be better conformed to God's commands.

Finally, let's address your lying example. When someone asks what the temperature will be tomorrow, the implication is that they want to know what some weatherman is predicting. But weather cannot be predicted accurately. If you could tell tomorrow's temperature precisely, then you would be better than every person in this world. Therefore, you set an expectation for yourself that cannot be reached. To say that "Tomorrow is supposed to be 61 degrees" isn't lying. It is reporting what someone has predicted.

It is easy to fall into a trap of reaching for impossible precision that is not even wanted or expected. If someone asks how long a board is, and I say it is about a foot, that is my estimation. If they want to cut a board the same length, then I'll get out a measuring tape but even here there are limits to how precise the measurement will be, but that is expected. The only one who is thinking in terms of absolute accuracy is yourself, but that is an unreasonable expectation.