Perfection is Not A Pre-Requisite For Calling

Perfectionism is a trap that women easily get caught in. For the purpose of this entry, lets define perfectionism as the endless pursuit for better than our best. There are many times when I have caught myself trying to outdo myself in an attempt to be perfect. We so quickly discount our best as “could be better”, as we compare to someone else’s best. We discount our “good enough” as “never enough”. This “never enough” mindset leads us on an endless chase. It is exhausting to be more than God has called us to. We need to say “enough!” to perfectionism.

Here are some reasons why perfection is not worth pursuing:

-It will never end. The pursuit for perfection will never end. We will keep doing more and more. We will become unsatisfied with our best. When achieve one goal, it will lead to the next goal. Solomon spoke of what we should be in pursuit of. He said, “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor” (Proverbs 21: 21). Righteousness and kindness are God-centered; what can Christ do to make me better? The way of perfection is me-centered; what can I do to be better? In a world that desires to distract us with the temporary, may we follow the things that will never fade.

-It will prevent us from feeling qualified: Perfectionism can make us feel like we must do or be things as a pre-requisite for being chosen. We may say “no” to a call on our life from the Holy Spirit because we don’t feel qualified. We may feel like we have to do and be x, y, and z before we are able to be enough. We are qualified in Christ. Paul says, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5 ESV). Our sufficiency comes from our Father. This stands in stark contrast with perfectionism, which says that I can do anything better because of me. When we can realize who makes us complete, we will say “yes” to the things God has called us to.

-It will cause us to be critical: When I think about people in the Bible who expected perfection, I think about the Judaizers. The Judaizers thought that only people who were circumcised to receive salvation. By keeping the law, the Judaizers believed they were qualified to follow Jesus. Peter does the unthinkable when he goes and spends time fellowshipping with the Gentiles, uncircumcised people. When Peter goes to talk to the church, “the circumcision party criticized him, saying ‘You went to the uncircumcised men and ate with them’” (Acts 11:2-3 ESV). We develop a critical spirit when we start to think that perfection is necessary.

-It will lead to procrastination: Often times, I have procrastinated starting something for fear it won’t be to the highest standard. I have put off blog posts for fear it would turn out less than perfect.  In essence, I have put off the calling God has for my words for fear they won’t sound good enough. If God has called me to something, He will equip me to complete it. Paul speaks of the way the Word of God trains the believer with the tools for the task. He says, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV). According to Merriam Webster, the word “equip” means to “furnish for service or action”. Let’s let God do the work of preparing us for the task He has for us.

-It doesn’t last: The greatest things on Earth found in nature, understanding, and relationships have limits. The things that give us Earthly enjoyment have an expiration date. The Word of God, in contrast, has eternal value. The unnamed author of Psalm 119 says, “I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad” (Psalm 119:96 ESV).  I desire to keep my focus on things that are important to God. I don’t want to get caught up in things that are temporary.

At some time in our life, we are all going to feel not “enough”. When we say “enough!” to perfectionism, I think we will really see that we are enough in Christ. The things we were trying to perfect at were really restricting us from doing the things that God has called us to do. When we lay our perfectionism at the feet of Jesus, He can begin equipping us with the attitudes that will lead to worthy living. We can begin to say “yes” to the things that might be scary because we know that God is making us qualified for the task.