Perfection: What's the Appeal?

I've been asking myself this lately...why are we so drawn to perfection? To being perfect?

We want our perfect houses, and perfect lives, and perfect relationships, and perfect bodies, and perfect eating habits....the list goes on.

But really, what is really the appeal of trying to be perfect? Is is so we can lord our accomplishments over others? Does it make us feel better about our imperfections and our insecurities?

I'm totally drawn to wanting to be perfect. And I'm not really sure why.

I mean, hypothetically, even if such "perfection" could be achieved, would I really want it? Who really wants to be friends with a perfect person?

Striving to be that perfect person is such an empty endeavor. It makes me think about Ecclesiastes. Solomon achieved and experienced everything the world had to offer. Yet, it was meaningless.

I want to be authentic, not perfect.

I want to love people and give grace more freely. I want to embrace the imperfections which make me unique and beautiful. I want to make others feel more important than me, rather than making myself feel more important than others. I want to devote my time and energy to helping others, rather than helping myself.

Ahh...life goals.

A Prayer of Thanks

Everyday I must remind myself who the God is that I love and serve.

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And everyday I must remind myself of who I was, who I am, and who I am becoming in Christ.

Father, You are holy and sovereign, clothed in perfect wisdom and divine knowledge. You are beautiful beyond imagination and loving beyond comprehension. You are good. And you are just. Your plans and your purposes are good and perfect. You abound in grace and you give good gifts to your children. 

I encourage you to daily claim truth. Proclaim the character of our God and praise Him. Trust in Him and let Him transform you.

Father, thank you for redeeming me. Thank you bringing me out of a life consumed with self and pleasure and sin. Apart from you I am nothing. Apart from you I am miserable, a slave to my own selfish desires for status and money and acceptance. Thank you for Redeeming me! I am your child. I live daily in the freedom of your Truth. Everyday I experience grace beyond measure. Thank you that you have a perfect and good plan for my life. Thank you that I am becoming exactly the person who you have created me to be. 

Live in the truth of Who you are in Christ. Remember where you came from. And Reflect on where God is bringing you. Reflect upon a life transformed by the Lord of all.

I praise God that the truth found through Him and in Him gives me the strength to face every battle and every temptation. When I remember who I am in Christ, it's much harder to succumb to envy or pride or selfishness. An eternal perspective of my place in the kingdom is a reminds me that I have already been given far more mercy and grace that I deserve. And the only appropriate response is praise and thanks.

God's Heart. My Heart.

Sometimes I can be so selfish. Even about good things – like my spiritual life, my wedding, my schoolwork, my graduate school applications…. And I forget to ask God what he wants me to be concerned about.

"And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.' "((Matthew 9:35-37 ESV))

Ask God to give you a heart that is like His. A heart that has compassion for the lost. A heart that is passionate about spreading the kingdom of God. And take action – serve others and love them with God’s love. Love that comes from a heart that overflows with God’s grace.