Perfectionism focuses on self, on myself specifically— it asks what I have done, what I have failed to do, whether my record is clean enough. There are two paths to answer those questions, and both lead to perdition.
On the one hand, I can focus on my imperfections and conclude that I am worthless, beyond redemption, and from there to discouragement and despair.
Or I can compare myself to others, and think how much worse they are than I am. That path leads to pride, self-worship, and abusing all those I perceive lesser.
Perfection, the biblical kind, focuses on God — His grace, His mercy, His love. All those tell us we can trust Him unconditionally.
When tested by the threat of death, each choice reveals its true nature. The first two lead to desperation and despair. Trusting God changes that. Trusting God in the face of death is perfection of commitment.
Scripture provides examples of that. For example, Job says to his friends, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” Those words don’t arise from iron-clad theological reasoning, they emerge from a lifetime of knowing the One he trusts.
Daniel’s three friends, when threatened with burning to death in a fiery furnace, said to Nebuchadnezzar: “The God we serve can save us. But even if he doesn’t — we still will not worship your gods.” Read that carefully. They are not claiming a guaranteed rescue. They are saying: whatever happens, our commitment does not change.
Esther: “Then I will go in to see the king. Even if it means I must die.” Time and eternity on the line. She does not know the outcome. She commits anyway.
Even the thief on the cross. In the very process of being executed, facing certain death in a matter of painful hours, he expressed his trust in Jesus—even as Jesus himself hung dying.
Of course, those are biblical stories. Do we know of any other examples—shall we say “real world” examples—of such commitment? Actually, quite a few. And here’s one: in 1555, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were convicted of heresy and sentenced to be burned at the stake. As they were being bound, Ridley faltered. And no wonder. But seeing this, Latimer said to him:
Be of good cheer, Master Ridley, and play the man. For we shall this day light such a candle in England as I trust, by God’s grace, shall never be put out.
Facing one of the most painful deaths imaginable, Latimer’s mind did not focus on himself. Not on his record, his sins, his worthiness. Neither did he focus on Ridley’s understandable fears. After all, fear can be contagious. But even in such a desperate moment, he did not condemn Ridley as a coward. Instead he directed their gaze toward God, and on what God might do through this moment. With time and eternity on the line they committed themselves to trust God. That is perfection of commitment.
That’s the perfection God seeks.
Notice that God does not always rescue us from trials. Job survived, but suffered of unimaginable losses. Daniel’s friends and Queen Esther survived, but they had no assurance of that. Latimer and Ridley burned to death.
The pattern of Scripture is not that God always rescues his people from trials, but He always goes through them with us. Remember, there was a fourth figure in Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace. There is a another figure in yours, too — if you will let him in.
This is not a continuing state that most of us maintain for months at a time. I want to be honest about that. Our walk is uneven. Paul says plainly: I do things I hate to do. I don’t do the things I want to do. That battle is real, and it does not disqualify you. The apostle Paul fought it. So did I, this week. So will you.
But when the moment of truth comes — when time and eternity are genuinely on the line — that is when perfection of commitment becomes necessary. That is when Job says though he slay me. That is when Esther says even if I die. When the guilty thief says, “Remember me.” That is when Latimer says play the man.
The closer I walk with Christ, the more clearly I see my own flaws. That is not discouragement — that is the light working. The more you are in the light, the more you can see. But the light also shows you Who is standing beside you. The One you can trust.
That is the only perfection worth having. And it is available to every one of us.
Which raises a practical question: how do you build that kind of trust before the moment demands it?
If you’d like Ed to speak at your church, contact him at
BibleJourneys@Yahoomail.com
Put “Speaking Inquiry” in the subject line.
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