Hope for Perfectionists

I’m a perfectionist at heart. My desk is tidy, my house is orderly, I block out my schedule into neat hours and to-do lists, and I strive to hit every criteria for my assignments. My bookshelf is organized (by subject and alphabetically), and my pictures are all hanging straight on my walls. At times I’ve believed such perfectionism to be a virtue—and one that everyone should strive for. 

Yet I know how this “virtue” can be a thorn in my side as well. The sleepless nights of tossing and turning, wondering if I really did do my best on that essay. The exhaustion from scrubbing my kitchen that will never become clean to me. The hours spent working on a project that I will only ever see the imperfections in. As a perfectionist, mistakes aren’t lessons to be learned but whips to lash myself with. 

The thorns of perfectionism also curl into my faith. Grace is like a math problem I can’t solve—how do I add nothing to my faith yet gain eternal life? Every sin can be faith rattling. I stand outside the doors of Heaven not daring to come close to the throne fearing the disappointment and contempt my Father must have for me because of my failures. 

Can you relate? 

Perfectionism paints a pretty, promising picture for us: Our hearts will be at rest and our minds will be at peace; every loose end will be tied up and every wrinkle smoothed out—because we’ll work hard to make it so. But each day perfectionism brings us no closer to that promise and instead leaves us exhausted, frustrated, anxious, and hopeless.

You’ll never receive all that perfectionism flaunts in promises. But if you rest in Christ and his model for growth, you’ll find true rest and peace.

Read the rest at Gospel-Centered Discipleship.