Freedom from the performance trap

“Are ye so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect in the flesh.”

(Galations 3:3). Now, perfect is a beautiful word, but perfectionism is an ugly word. What is perfectionism? Well, perfectionism is that disease of judging yourself by your achievements. A psychologist described perfectionism this way: “And, perfectionists are those whose standards are beyond reach or reason. People who strain compulsively toward impossible goals and who measure their own self worth entirely in terms of productivity and accomplishment.” Does that apply to you? I judge myself by how I perform. And, therefore, I must perform. The key words for the perfectionists are these: I must, I should, I ought. There are perfectionists around us. They’re miserable people. They’re caught in a trap. There are no perfect people in this present world. Therefore, if you are a perfectionist, you have set an impossible goal for yourself and therefore, you will be constantly faced with frustration and failure.

If you get in your mind that God is going to accept you on the basis of your performance, your quiet time, your Bible study, your giving, your witnessing, your holy life - do you see what a trap that is? You will never know if you’ve done enough. You will never ever truly feel accepted. If we could achieve perfection, we wouldn’t need a Savior!

One man was going around looking for a church. Someone asked, “What kind of church are you looking for.” He said “Well, I’m looking for a perfect church.” His friend said, “There’s no such thing, but if you happened to find one, don’t join it, you’d ruin it.” And that is true. There are no perfect churches. A church is a fellowship of sinners saved by grace who understand that’s what they are. Do you get the idea that a perfect church would be a church filled with perfect people? It wouldn’t be. A perfect church, a wonderful church is a church where you have people who are in all stages of progression, who are growing. I mean who’s going to teach these people? Who’s going to minister to these people? Who’s going to help them to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? A perfectionist in the church is a miserable person and he makes everybody else miserable. The fellowship is never sweet enough for him. A teacher is never prepared enough for him. The sermon is never good enough for him. The music is never spiritual enough for him or for her.

Paul, in Ephesians 1:6, said: “to the praise of the glory of his grace whereby he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” You don’t have to earn acceptance. Grace is God’s acceptance of us. Faith is our acceptance of God’s acceptance of us. One of the greatest songs ever written, Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me. Oh, Lamb of God, I come to thee. I come to Thee.

Friend, you’re not accepted on the basis of who you are, but what He did. It’s grace. Paul said, I made havoc of the church of God, but I am what I am by the grace of God. When you understand this, it frees you, not to do less. You do more, but it’s oh so different. Now, you’re burning the oil and not the wick. Now you’re doing what you do as unto God. You have been freed from the performance trap. Learn to accept God’s grace. And, then learn to accept yourself, because if God has accepted you, you can accept you. You can say, I am what I am by the grace of God.

Pastor Samuel can be reached at 696-0563 or sskrouse@succeed.net