Excellence Versus Perfectionism

All of us want to be successful and to be able to do things well.  Unfortunately for some of us, we set goals that are unreasonable and then find it impossible to celebrate progress rather than perfection. 

Excellence is the noble effort any of us make to "live one day at a time, one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace."  Perfectionism is that fear-driven approval-seeking obsessive pressure that threatens to overwhelm us until we are defeated. 

It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.

Philippians 1:9-10

While it's important that we do our best within the limits we have of time, talent, and resources, we need to recognize that perfectionism is something quite different, and is much more sinister.

Once again, our great example is Jesus:

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.  

Hebrews 12:1b-2a; 5:8-9,

Only Jesus is perfect and we're not Jesus. We find our perfection by trusting in the finished work of the only person who was perfect.  Jesus is the "perfecter of our faith."  The Bible is full of imperfect characters like us who were loved and redeemed by the one true God.

God is not looking for perfection in us but rather that we have faith in the perfect work of His beloved Son.  God desires our best effort to be obedient to His word as our focus.  That’s what He calls excellence. 

God wants us to acknowledge our failures and have an open heart to His forgiveness and cleansing and restoration.  That is life at its best for whoever chooses it.

Heavenly Father, we want to live well, but we know that we can't do today perfectly let alone our whole life.  Thank You for sending Jesus to suffer and die for our sins so we could receive forgiveness and healing for our failures. 

We want to give ourselves today to knowing and doing what is excellent, as You define excellence, and be quick to come to You when we fall short, as we inevitably will.  That too is excellence on Your terms.

Help us, like Jesus, to keep our focus on You through all the ups and downs of the day and experience the fullness of life You want to give us today.  Amen

So, let’s do our best to live excellence today but let go of perfectionism.