When we take a stand against the demon of perfectionism, we start to see beauty in the normal, and to live with less stress in our life - which is actually killing us. We start to breathe deeply and enjoy our life and the people in it.
We often think
of demons as fiery little dragon-like beings that entice us to sin. However,
demons can appear as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). They do not always
promote sinister behavior, but can also attempt to sidetrack and overwhelm us.
They drive us to distraction, so we have little time to obey God
Many people consider
perfectionism as a virtue. We strive to bring order from chaos and to attain to
more than the status quo. We drive our self and everyone around us to reach
perfection in every area of life.
We know what
we want and how we want the events in our life to play out. Therefore, we often
get disappointed with unsatisfactory results and behavior from our self and
others, pointing out what could have been improved or done differently.
Our
standards are too high and usually unreachable. We under-value and criticize
our self and others, and we fail to appreciate that we and others did our very best.
We attempt
to live up to the world's standards as well, and we expect perfection from our
self and everyone else. Unfortunately, human beings are never perfect;
therefore, we soon get disillusioned, resentful and sometimes even angry with
no real cause.
If we could realize
that all of us are fallible, diverse, opinionated and unpredictable, this
change in our concepts would enable us to accept a job well done, even if it is
not perfect according to demon-inspired ideals.
When we take
a stand against the demon of perfectionism, we start to see beauty in the
normal and live with less stress in our life - which is actually killing us. We
start to breathe deeply and enjoy our life and the people in it.
We see
magnificence in our differences, abilities and mistakes; and our patience grows
and does its perfect work in our life (James 1:-8). We learn to consult the
Lord in every endeavor and to follow His plans for our life, rather than our
own (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Prayer:
Father God,
Your works are perfect; but due to Adam's sinful fall, the universe is hindered
from living up to Your plan and expectations for us all. Paradise was perfect,
and we will live in Your perfect new heaven and earth when You return to take
up Your authority over the earth again.
Until then,
help us to tolerate differences, to accept that our current life on this earth
is less than perfect, and to realize that Satan drives our need for perfection
in order to limit our usefulness to You and Your Kingdom. Help us to see the beauty
in imperfections in our self, others and the world around us.
Thought for
the Day:
As we
practice letting go of our drive toward perfectionism, we start to relax and
enjoy our self, others and life in general; we gain a deeper sense of ease in
who we are, and we stop expecting our self and others to do more than our best.
