|
“Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now going to be made complete by the flesh?”
[Galatians 3:3 NASB]
|
|
Grace
Just as toddlers learn to stand and walk instead of crawl, so Christians learn to move in God’s grace instead of our crawling along in own fleshly efforts. It’s difficult, and we often experience times of reversion to self-righteousness – something Galatians 3 exposes. One of the clues that I have learned to watch for is perfectionism. Though discernment is wise and desire for excellence can be God-honoring, perfectionism is all about my flesh. It reveals an insecure desire for control that is antithetical to standing in grace.
Perfectionism
Dr. David Seamands gives a great description of why perfectionism is so dangerous:
Perfectionism is a counterfeit for Christian perfection, holiness, sanctification, or the Spirit-filled life. Instead of making us holy persons and integrated personalities – that is, whole persons in Christ – perfectionism leaves us spiritual Pharisees and emotional neurotics…Perfectionism is the most disturbing emotional problem among evangelical Christians. It walks into my [counseling] office more than any other single Christian hangup.
– David Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions, 78-79
Friends, perfectionism does not lead to the fruit of God’s Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. The perfectionist will always show these traits instead:
Tyranny of regret (I ought to have…)
Self – depreciation
Anxiety
Legalism
Anger (and denial of anger)
Conditional love based on performance
When I recently taught on Galatians 3, an insightful lady wrote me this response:
I was able to put a little check-mark next to each item on the list of “Fruits of Perfectionism” you discussed. I want to stop. My soul is crushed by the weight of every little thing I have chosen to carry, along with the associated anger and anxiety. I always feel like I have to do the exact right thing at the exact right time while saying the exact right words.
In the words of Elsa, I just need to “let it go.” Do you know how? I don’t seem to have a release button on me. Part of me is expecting an easy, step-by-step guidebook, but I know that isn’t how God works. I think it’s past time I stopped wallowing in my sin and accepted God’s discipline.
Walking, but not alone
I replied to her what I have learned myself:
1. Every person struggles with self-effort legalism. It is broken humanity’s default setting. But, by God’s grace, every person can learn to walk in the Spirit and stop crawling in our own flesh. Otherwise the Lord would not call us to do so. God’s grace really can, on a daily basis, free us from perfectionism 2. There is no magic formula and this will always be a fight. The most important step (pun intended) is to partner with God in continual monitoring of your thinking. God’s Spirit will expose your “stinking thinking” when you humbly engage with the Bible as a learner. 3. The second important step is to get good friends who will call you out. Real friends in Christ will lovingly point out your fleshly crawling – including perfectionism. If you have other suggestion re: walking in the grace of God, please let me know. It’s a blessing to walk in the Spirit with you.
|