It’s got to be perfect.
A number of years ago, I was working on a construction job where we were doing all of the exterior work on the addition of a house. The homeowner was a friend of my boss and was going to do all the work on the inside. Now, they had some experience with doing some smaller projects but nothing to the extent of what they were about to tackle. A little while after we were done, he sent a video to my boss of them installing the tile floor. The video was eight minutes long, of them setting tile for the bathroom floor. Ok, let me rephrase that - it was an eight minute video of them installing one tile in their bathroom floor. Now you may or may not have ever laid tile before, but I can tell you, if it takes eight minutes to set one tile, you are going to be there for a long time! Why did it take so long? Because their concern for perfection was so great that they weren’t able to go any faster. In addition, they didn’t know that tile has variance in size, meaning that there is an acceptable difference in size of tile based on the manufacturer. So, no matter how perfect they wanted to get, perfect was unobtainable.
I think this search for perfection can cause us to be paralyzed. We want the conditions to be just perfect for us to complete the task. I’m sure you’ve never done this, but I’ve found myself making plans to clean up and organize the basement. But then once the weekend gets here, I realize that the conditions are not perfect for me to get this accomplished, like if it’s raining out, and because I’ll have to go outside to take trash out or bring the shelves in, I can’t possibly do it today. Then the next week, it’s a nice and sunny day. But we haven’t gone on a family hike recently so I feel like I should really spend that time together with my family. So now I plan to do it in the evening, but because of the full day we had and since the next day is going to be an early morning, I feel like I really should go to bed. Now, I’m sure that I’m not the only one who procrastinates because the conditions are not “perfect.”
You know what I noticed though? I think we do this in other areas of our life as well, and we excuse our “perfection paralysis” if the task can’t be done perfectly or if the conditions aren’t right.
“I can’t do my daily quiet time today because I woke up late and I can’t spend the full time I had originally planned.”
“Life has been really busy so I can’t get involved in a Connect Group.”
“It’s nice and sunny out today so I really should stay home and mow the lawn instead of going to church.”
“I can’t get involved with the Kids or Youth Ministry because I’m too old and I can’t relate to them anymore.”
“I can’t delegate this task because then it won’t get done exactly how I would do it.”
“There is no way that I can share the gospel with my neighbor, friend, co-worker, or family member. What if I mess up and stumble on my words? What if I don’t know how to answer their questions?”
These are just a few of the excuses we can say to ourselves that paralyze us from doing the right thing. Now, I’m not saying that mowing your yard, getting rest, or being busy are not valid excuses, but when we allow those things to stop us from doing the things that we know God is calling us to do, that is where we can go wrong.
We have to learn that sometimes things are just not going to be perfect. In fact, I think that when we strive for perfection, it’s not healthy. However, we should strive for excellence. Now you might be asking yourself, “What’s the difference between perfection and excellence?” Perfection allows for no mistakes. Nothing can go wrong. It must be free from all flaws. This means that if you cannot physically do it, then it’s wrong because it won’t be done to your standard. Think of a true/false test; there is no middle ground.
In Colossians 3:23-24 it says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Excellence, on the other hand, is doing the best you can with what you have. This is saying, “Based on who I am and what I have available, this is the best I can do.” I believe that this is what God asks from us as followers of Him. He never asks us to be perfect. In fact, we are not perfect and never will be. That is why He sent His son to die on the cross for us. Now He wants us to serve Him in the best way we can.
I want to specifically encourage you to not allow “perfection paralysis” to stop you from sharing the gospel. The enemy wants you to feel that you cannot possibly share the gospel with someone unless you have been saved for years and even then, it’s best left to those who have studied and gone to school for it. This is a huge lie. Now, it is important to not give false information, but we can all share what God has done in our lives. I truly believe that the enemy tries to paralyze you by making you think that if you don’t have all the answers, then you shouldn’t even try. Side note: nobody has all the answers except God. It’s ok to say, “Hey I don’t have the answer to that, but let me find out and get back to you.” Then you can go and research it yourself or ask others who might know the answer so you can get back to them. Actually, this is a great way for you to continue learning more for your own self. How else will you learn what you don’t know unless someone asks you those hard questions?
As we look at the different things we have going on in our life, let us look for ways that we can accomplish them to the best of our ability. It might not be perfect, but let’s do our best. Remember, we should be working unto God in everything we do. Therefore, if I’m doing it for God, then I want to do the best I can.
As we go throughout our day, let’s not allow “perfection paralysis” to stop us. Instead, let’s encourage one another to do the best we can.
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