Do You Struggle with Perfectionism?

Both my wife and I have perfectionist tendencies - I tend to think hers are stronger but she might disagree.    Either way we both have had to overcome this feeling of not measuring up.  It did not help that our church background was extremely judgmental and critical.  Talk about making a bad situation worse! We would always feel as though we were'nt doing enough. 

What makes perfectionism so horrible is we will never be perfect this side of heaven.  This produces the unenviable position of always being up against a standard that we will never meet.  Sure, we might get an A on this paper, and are nominated to a higher position at work but then we need to find something else to get our perfection fix.  In a word - it stinks!

Romans 3:23 states, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," What's interesting about this verse is the phrase, "and fall short of the glory of God"  The Greek verb is in the Present Middle.  This means Paul is speaking on how all continuously fall short of God's glory - His Honor, praise, and dignity.  God is perfect, and we will forever fall short of His perfection.  This is why perfectionism is such a trap.

Why even try you ask?  Good question.  This is the best part of what God has done.  We try because we love Him.  Simple isn't it?  No drawn out theological conclusions, just the simple reality of a love that seeks to please our Lord.  So although we can let go of the un-attainable goal of perfection, we can enjoy pleasing our God by following His Word with a heart filled with Love.