Stop the Perfectionist!

Do you strive to be excellent or perfect? Before you can answer that truthfully, let’s take a look at some definitions.

Excellent: possessing outstanding quality; remarkably good (Dictionary.com)

Perfect: being entirely without fault or defect; corresponding to an ideal standard or abstract concept; mature, pure, complete (The Bible, NLT)

Gordon T. Smith, author of Courage & Calling Embracing your God-given Potential, explains, “Excellence is found in fulfilling our vocation in the service of truth to the very best of our ability, with a continued commitment to serve God as well as you are able.” In this case, operating in excellence means we don’t strive for anything less than our best because in the end it's not for us, but for God. Also remember, to get to our best we must be patient. We are given gifts and talents, but in order to craft them into excellence, we must be committed endless practice. Practice produces a master of their craft, and even a master of their craft doesn't stop practicing!

Wow... This sure sounds a lot like striving to be perfect…

Uh, not quite. Actually, Smith goes on to say, “Perfection is the misguided pursuit of excellence.” Perfectionists cower at adversity, failure, and growth. Perfectionists would rather stay where they know they can be (or at least appear to be) the best among others, and not actually be their best selves. When we try to operate in perfection we are never truly happy with ourselves, our work, or others.

But, there’s good news:

WE WERE NEVER CALLED TO OPERATE IN PERFECTION!

Newsflash folks, the only perfect person to walk this earth was Jesus Christ. That should relieve some worries, right? Nothing is better than realizing that you’ll never be perfect. In fact, you don’t have to be when you have a relationship with the perfect One. Let me reiterate:

You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be the best you.

There’s so much beauty in transparency, so live in it! He takes you as you are, and will qualify you for whatever purpose He’s planned for your life!

Laziness produces nothing, and guess what happens when you’re afraid of what other’s think? NOTHING. Cutting corners won’t produce what God has for you, and neither will pretending to have it all together. So what would you do if you really knew that you couldn’t fail? What project would you start? What script would you write? What movie would you film? Music, art, business, ministry, teaching? There are people depending on you to fulfill your purpose, and operate in excellence while doing so. What are you waiting for?

#lifestyle #books #calling #purpose #excellence