Does the Bible say anything about perfectionism?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Matthew 5:48 calls us to "be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect," but the Greek word for "perfect,” telios, means "brought to its end, completed, or perfect." This requires complete reliance on God, -which is quite the opposite of modern perfectionism in which we continually put pressure and unrealistic expectations on ourselves. Martha is often thought of as a perfectionist, given her behavior in Luke 10:38-42. However, Jesus makes it clear that it is better to be like her sister Mary and rest in His presence rather than be “anxious and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41). Romans 3:23 indicates that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” which affirms that only God is fully perfect. When it comes to the good work of Jesus in our lives, we cannot even take credit for that, as it is He who both started it and will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). While it is ultimately God who grows and transforms us, we are to work as well, not striving for our human version of perfection but taking care to grow in our faith (2 Peter 3:18).

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Genesis 1:31 indicates that all of God’s creation, including Adam, was “very good.” But our perfection was destroyed by Adam and Eve’s sin, an incident aptly referred to as “the Fall” (Genesis 3). Since this time, it is impossible for human beings to be perfect.
• David acknowledges to God that “no one living is righteous before you” (Psalm 143:2). Other Psalms similarly acknowledge that humankind is flawed (Psalm 14:2-3, 130:3-4).

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Matthew 5:48 says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is not a call to achieve our earthly standard of perfection. Rather, it’s about perfection completed in Christ, in reliance on Him.
• Martha seems to demonstrate a striving after perfectionism in Luke 10:38-42. While Martha’s sister, Mary, sits at Jesus' feet and listens to His teaching, Martha is “distracted with much serving” and at one point tells Jesus: “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me" (Luke 10:40). However, Jesus responds, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41–42). Our focus should be on Jesus, not expecting too much out of ourselves.
• Romans 3:23 states that "ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (emphasis added). This clearly shows that regardless of how hard we try, every single human will fail at being perfect.
• We are also reminded in Philippians 1:6 that completion is the work of Christ, and He is the one who carries us towards it.
• 2 Peter 3:18 says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” We need to obey and cooperate with God as He makes us whole and perfect in His timing and perfect planning. Instead of focusing on how perfect we appear to ourselves and others, we must refocus our heart's posture towards God.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Nobody’s perfect. This isn’t just a banal platitude; it’s an unchangeable truth of life. Perfectionism is simply not achievable. We tend to try to achieve it anyway, but the result is unrealistically high standards. Often, these standards are higher than anybody else or even God expects from us. The message of the gospel is based on Christ saving us. If we were perfect, we would have no need for a Savior. Yet, we are forgiven all of our shortcomings and flaws. This is great news because we can rest knowing that Jesus Christ was the only perfect human, and as a result, we do not need to strive for the unachievable.

UNDERSTAND

• Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, and all of humanity inherited sin, making perfection in this life unachievable.
• We are made “perfect” in God’s eyes when we put our faith in Christ and are covered by His righteousness.
• Rather than striving for perfection, believers should recognize our sin and rely on God.

REFLECT

• What are some ways that you guard against striving for perfectionism?
• How does recognizing your flaws help you to rely on Christ more?
• How does it make you feel to know that God doesn’t require perfection of you?

ENGAGE

• How is the Bible’s view of perfectionism at odds with the culture’s?
• How can believers use the Bible’s view of perfectionism as part of the “good news” to unbelievers about Christ?
• How can believers best strike a balance between doing our best but not striving for perfection?