Perfect or Excellent?

 

By Andrea Merrell

Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence,

and moral excellence with knowledge.

2 Peter 1:5 NLT

 

For so many years of my life I struggled with perfectionism, thinking anything “less than” was unacceptable. I felt judged by others for a less-than-perfect appearance … behavior … house … children. The pressure I lived under to please others and measure up to their unrealistic standards and expectations—as well as my own—created a constant feeling of failure and self-condemnation, even shame. No peace. No joy.

I was looking for my self-worth and affirmation in all the wrong places.

One writer says that after she was born again, she lived in fear that her “salvation contract” would become null and void the moment she made a mistake or didn’t do things perfectly. She attributes these feelings to pride and the fear of man.

We need to remember that the Enemy will constantly bombard us with accusations: You royally messed up. You said the wrong thing. What you did was unacceptable—and unforgiveable. You’ll never be good enough, so you might as well quit trying.

But Jesus says, “I love you even though … in spite of … because of … There’s nothing we can say or do that His grace and forgiveness won’t cover. He doesn’t expect or require perfection; that’s a quality only He possesses.

Our responsibility is to strive to do things in excellence—doing the best we can with what we have and doing it all as unto Him. As one writer says, “His perfection covers our imperfections.”

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and David Castillo Dominici