Pursue Excellence Not Perfection
“Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” Have you ever read Matt. 5:48 and thought, “Does God really expect me to be perfect?” He does have a high standard of holiness. Our Father wants us to become like Him. This can feel heavy and impossible. That’s not like our Papa God. How do you know the difference between a desire for excellence (which is healthy), and an unhealthy perfectionism? What does God actually ask of us in this area?
Two Extremes
In missions, we often err in two extremes. Some are legalistic and demanding. They expect an unreasonably high time commitment of themselves and others. On the other extreme, some Christian workers are lazy. They become lax in their work ethic. The quality they expect of themselves is far lower than would be expected in a secular job. Neither of these extremes pleases the Lord.
Excellence with Grace
God wants to teach us to walk in excellence. We give Him our very best effort. He is worthy of that. Our love for Him compels us to do an even better job, than if we were working for a company or human institution. At the same time, we live in the understanding of His great love for us. He is not demanding and freely forgives us when we make mistakes. We too must learn to be gracious with ourselves and others.
Working Too Little or Too Much
My heart was sad as I listened to her share. She described a missionary training center where those living there rarely worked. A quality person, she was passionate about the vision the center professed as their purpose.
The work ethic had gotten lax, however. People received outside support with no accountability. It wasn’t a lot, but their basic needs were met. Days were spent doing routine activities. They maintained the training center- cooking food, cleaning the property, watching their children.
What frustrated my friend was how infrequently they went out to “do ministry.” They only went out once or twice a week for a few hours. No company in the world would stand for this low level of work output. Especially from employees who were having their food and housing provided for them!
Another conversation revealed the opposite. My friend said he woke early for prayer. He ate, showered and left the house. Then, he didn’t return until 11 pm at night. All-day long he was out meeting people, making disciples, visiting the sick, praying for new believers. His busy schedule concerned me. When I asked him about taking a sabbath, it seemed a foreign idea. He and his wife had been in ministry for more than ten years, but had never taken a real vacation.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…
Colossians 3:23 NIV.
Ways to Maintain the Balance
1. Give your best, it’s what God expects.
He gave His very life for us, how could we not do our best for Him? When we take this verse to heart, our work quality and efforts should improve. Be sure that the reason you work so hard or long is because of your love for Jesus. It must not be because you feel God will only love you if you work hard! His love is not earned by your performance. You are already His beloved son or daughter!
2. Establish margins and boundaries in your life.
Sometimes I struggle with this. My passion overtakes common sense. We are created in His image, but we live in human bodies. They get tired and need rest. Our spirits need time to connect with God as well. When we are too busy or working too hard, our intimacy with God dries up. We become fleshy in our thinking instead of being in tune with His Spirit.
Taking a weekly sabbath and setting boundaries for when you will work (even in ministry) is critical. There are emergencies and special seasons when we work more or harder. Those times can’t go on forever though or you will not be able to finish your ministry race well.
3. Recognize perfectionism or performance orientation and seek healing.
If you were raised in a family with demanding authority figures, you could be struggling with performance orientation. Do you struggle to finish tasks? Feel they have to be perfect before you can move on? This is another indicator. Learn about these perfectionist tendencies. Seek counsel and healing.
Striving for excellence is different. You do your best, but realize that mistakes get made and it’s okay. God covers a multitude of our mistakes with His great love. Forgive yourself and others when things don’t go perfectly.
4. Go beyond the normal work ethic of the world.
Most companies around the world expect their employees to work forty hours a week. They expect you to show up on time and be diligent when “on the job.” If you are only going out for ministry a few hours a day, maybe it’s good to re-evaluate.
Would you turn in an assignment to a teacher without editing it first? Why send emails, or create tracts with spelling errors? It’s easy to download free software called Grammarly to help you with making corrections when you write.
Whatever we do in ministry, we represent our Savior. Let’s represent Him with excellence in all we do!
5. Become a student of grace.
Some years ago I read an excellent book by Philip Yancey called, “What’s So Amazing About Grace?”
I recommend it! If performance and perfectionism are a struggle, intentionally study grace this year. Read books about it, do a word study on it, take note of the word grace as you read the Bible. Ask God to teach you what His grace is all about.
His Perfection is Ours
As we pursue a deeper walk with Jesus, His excellence rubs off on us. We become like Him and He is perfect! The verse I started this article with can become a reality. His perfection, not ours. His holiness expressed through us.
How does this tension (excellence vs. perfectionism) look in your life and ministry? Share in the comments below or on the Missionary Life FB group.
Peace be yours as you strive for excellence in all you do!