Are you a Perfectionist?

Do you believe that anything less than perfect is unacceptable? Are you compulsively working toward impossible goals. Is your self worth valued on your accomplishments or those of your children's and spouse? Maybe you are a closeted perfectionist...hidden behind procrastination and self deprecation. Do you suffer from analysis paralysis.

Then my friend..."you might be a Perfectionist."

I have known I was a perfection...liked everything in symmetry...ok...maybe a little OCD. I thought of it as a good thing. I didn't realize the bondage it was keeping me in by not writing because I couldn't express myself "perfectly." Granted I had a valid excuse of being in a lot of pain, hands and arms vibrating with spasms, and a brain so foggy it is like driving in a constant storm. It would take me hours to unravel goobledegook.

I told myself it didn't matter. What did I really have to say anyway. Bottom line it is not about what I have to say...it is about what God has to say and Christ in me. There have been so many lessons the Holy Spirit has put on my heart. I would discuss a few with Preston and think..."I will put that down when I feel better." Well...feel better never came...feel better may never come. Maybe that is the greater lesson. The lesson of perseverance in adversity. I never understood that people could be blessed even with a lesson that is less than perfect.

There has been a lot of talk about the new Michael Jackson album from a compilation of songs he had worked on before his death. Some people say it shouldn't have been made public because it wasn't up to Michael's perfectionist standards. Now, I was never a Michael Jackson fan, but I have heard some of the new releases and they sound pretty good to me. I am sure his fans will enjoy them. I am sure they are not perfect, but sometimes things can be more "perfect" in their imperfections.

God has not called us to perfectionism. He alone is perfect. I believe we should pursue excellence...to the best of our abilities. There was one in the Bible who was a "perfectionist." His name was Lucifer. He saw imperfect man as unacceptable. He worked toward the impossible goal of being God. His self worth was based on his accomplishments. This is what God did to him...

"Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings" Ezekiel 28:17.

So, lest I continue on in more perfectionism...I will post this with all its imperfection.

4 Response to "Are you a Perfectionist?"

  1. Preston Pittman says:
    December 21, 2010 at 3:42 AM

    I'm curious, Bren... how old were you in this picture... lol. Seriously, I just love this. If not for the title, I would say it is perfect, so let's go with, "Pretty Darn Excellent"... a score of 99.9.

    God charged us to be perfect throughout the old testament, and it just never happened... not until the cross. Notice who's perfection we display today, as we read from 1 Peter...

    "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light". 1 Peter 2:9

    You see... we walk in Christ's Perfection and out of our own... darkness.

    I love you Bren... with a Perfect Love... His!

  2. Anonymous Says:
    December 22, 2010 at 6:08 AM

    Great post, Brenda, I suffer from perfectionism but God in His mercy is chipping away on me. I never really knew how bad it was until I lived with a perfectionist and I turned the other cheek. We are all blessed that you are able to write and share with us. May you know the blessings of the Lord through your writings. T

  3. Brenda says:
    December 22, 2010 at 6:11 AM

    Thank you Preston. Thanks for bringing it together with 1 Peter 2:9. Notice it says "perfections of Him who called you." It is when we strive for our own perfection that we walk in darkness. Yes, in Christ's perfection we walk in "His marvelous light!"

    I love you Preston... with a Perfect Love... His!

  4. Brenda says:
    December 22, 2010 at 6:13 AM

    Thank You T. You are such an encouragement and blessing to me! I am still getting chipped away at...to turn from my perfection to God's perfection. I am still praying for wisdom to understand between excellence and perfectionism. I edited this post many times to line up all the funny spaces...lol.

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