Pressure of perfection

As Christians, sometimes we feel the pressure to be perfect. I know I feel this way, all. the. time. I put this pressure on myself, allowing lies like “if I mess up I will completely ruin my witness and I won’t be able to share Jesus ever again.” how melodramatic, right? how vainglorious and prideful of me to think that MY mistakes can limit GOD. God doesn’t use me based on how many sins I commit or the weight of each sin saying, “I can use her because she only lied about a grade, but I can’t use him because he cheated on his girlfriend.” all of our sins are washed away by His blood, not one sin cost more to Jesus than another (1 John 1:7).

If God views all sin worthy of death, but he sacrificed his life that we wouldn’t have to die, that means that all of our sins are forgiven. no matter how “bad” they may be. PRAISE JESUS, AM I RIGHT?

now, back to the pressure of perfection. Jesus already knows our sin, heck he’s felt the weight of all of it. us thinking that God can’t use us because we sin is doubting God, putting our omnipotent God in a box of our limited mind. it chains us to the presumption that God has expectations for us other than to love, enjoy, and follow Him. Our sins do not define us, it’s the overwhelming love that buried our sin that defines us. When we live in the lie we have to be perfect,  we are setting unrealistic expectations for ourselves and when we do mess up, it is going to make us feel that much worse.

don’t let the pressure of perfection force you into a fearful, lesser life.

we are not meant to hide behind the shame of our sin. we are meant to recognize our sin, find the root of the problem, and forgive yourself because that debt has already been paid. people mess up, all the time. when you are able to open up and show you don’t have it all together, it makes you more approachable. people can connect because of common mistakes you’ve made. don’t miss out on an opportunity to share how Jesus has redeemed you because you are carrying the weight of something that has already been lifted.