We are smack in the middle of tearing down the glass walls of perfectionism, first dealing with the realization that perfectionism can be an indication of putting too much emphasis on other people’s opinions of me and what I accomplish - in other words, seeking approval from man more than God.
Today, we will be tackling another cause of perfectionism - FEAR.
I would be lying if I told you that one of the biggest causes for my perfectionism wasn’t fear.
Oh fear was definitely there. You probably are familiar with it, too… the fear of failure. This fear would cause great delay and paralysis with whatever I put my hands to - whether it was attempting a project for work or church, or even trying to build an extra income for my little family.
I would look at it every which way, analyzing and projecting and planning… trying this or redefining that. Then, I would FINALLY actually start doing the work. It was slow going sometimes because I had to make sure every.single.aspect. was no less than perfect.
Or sometimes (more times than not), I’d start the work, and become so consumed that it took every single waking moment from me (and my family) to make sure my perfect effort was rewarded perfectly.
I was afraid that this effort would fail, so I would put everything I had into making every part of it perfect. I actually remember having more than one conversation with my husband about this - and by conversation I mean a very heated discussion - and I would break down and explain that the reason I’m having to do it this way is because I didn’t want this to be “another failure”.
Battling this fear of failure led me to a couple main scriptures that helped me.
First, regarding fear.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
I love comparing versions of the Bible, and the Amplified Bible brings so much clarity to me about this:
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].”
So not only did God not give us that fear (and if HE didn’t give it to us, what business do I have entertaining it??), but he also gave us abilities, good judgement and personal discipline to get it done the way HE intends it to be done.
How freeing it is to realize my fear of failure is just misplaced responsibility. If we are doing things with the normal spirit of excellence he has given us (through the personal discipline, sound judgment, power & love the verse mentions above), then the responsibility lies with GOD, not me, to make the outcome be a “success”.
The second verse we will talk about more next week.
Let’s pray together before I sign off:
Our gracious Father, thank you for putting within us YOUR spirit of power and love and a sound mind. Thank you that no matter how big or small the problem is, you’ve already given us what we need to make our efforts count toward the outcome you want for us. God, help us to see your Spirit at work in us and give us the peace we need to be able to rest in the knowledge that this fear of failure is not from you. We give all our efforts to YOU, God. Help us to focus more on your leading than the perfection or mistakes of our own efforts. Lead us, Lord, so that everything we do will bring glory to your name, and not ours. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment