There is often a spirit of perfection that has influenced and infiltrated The Church today whether in the area of appearance, who is up front on a given Sunday (allowed to be there), in the area of worship etc.
This may have also infiltrated our regular day-to-day existence at times as we try to achieve a standard that's not attainable.
Maybe you've experienced this too?
What I've heard stated in many settings large and small is what they may call or think of as "giving Him our best". We need to give Him our best! Which is true however, it's one thing to strive to give God your very best, to strive for excellence, but that's very different than perfection because, NEWS FLASH, even your very best won't be "perfection".
This may have also infiltrated our regular day-to-day existence at times as we try to achieve a standard that's not attainable.
Maybe you've experienced this too?
What I've heard stated in many settings large and small is what they may call or think of as "giving Him our best". We need to give Him our best! Which is true however, it's one thing to strive to give God your very best, to strive for excellence, but that's very different than perfection because, NEWS FLASH, even your very best won't be "perfection".
While we should obviously strive do our best for the Lord and give Him our all, my observation is that "giving Him our best" in many settings is code for "you better be perfect and meet my standards, (not God's) or you won't be able to serve here or do certain things because you're just not good or "premier" enough for us."
Um, what about growing in grace and are our lives just a perpetual audition for some reality show or something? Have they even read their Bibles to see the band of imperfect followers that Jesus called to be His disciples?
Also, If you don't have a so called perfect "performance" that day does that mean you're not useful to God and His people?! Certainly Not!
This also can filter into our day-to-day lives as we may potentially try to strive for perfection in every area of our lives. We may be taught this at our local church meeting places so we apply it to our lives through trying to present the best manicured view of what our life is supposed to be, when in reality the Christian life can be very very messy but we don't want people to know it because that wouldn't be attractive.
We need to understand that we're all in the progress of growing. Yes, we should practice and grow the specific skills and talents we've been given and we should use the gifts God has give us but it's never from a place where we'll have it completely together as He's the one who holds all things together!
"Perfectionism is like a disease that takes God out of the equation and in its place inserts worldly man centered standards." -Randolph Koch
The truth is that The Word of God doesn't tell us to strive for perfection, rather, He instructs us to strive for holiness and we're to leave the perfection or the process of being PERFECTED to Him through the work of The Holy Spirit!
Also, He never said "be perfect because I'm perfect"(which He was of course!), rather, He said, "Be holy for I am holy". (See 1 Peter 1:14-16)
A) Abiding in Christ and God's Word.
B) Allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through us.
C) Actually doing what God's Word directs us to do because clearly His way is much higher and better than ours. We are responsible to do this no matter what we are or aren't taught each week.
Let me encourage you to not allow yourself to fall into the trap of perfection while striving to do your best, instead, shift your focus to holiness (which is still a work of The Holy Spirit) and reject perfectionism.
Allow The Holy Spirit to do His work in your life. Let God's Word, grace and love permeate your heart, mind and soul and then in return, give it out to everyone around you.
Let's pray for one another to reject perfection and strive for holiness instead!
In Christ Alone,
Your brother and servant,
rlk
P.S. If you found this post encouraging or it ministered to you in a special way, please share it with someone today using the share buttons below.
P.S.S. Since I've been on both the church staff and congregation side there is definitely more I can share on this topic as well as what I believe some of the reasons I believe perfectionism is common place today, I'll save that for another post maybe. :-)
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