Perfectionism is expecting God to give me in this life what He has promised to give me only in the next. Perfectionists want to live in a world without sin, sickness, suffering, and Satan. The problem is, except for the first and last two chapters of the Bible, we find at least one of these four Ss on every page. It is not until the next life that those of us who know Christ as our Savior and Lord will be free of them.

The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Rom. 8:20–21 ESV)

Perhaps you’ve heard a perfectionist humorously described as “someone who takes great pains and gives them to others.” Today let’s look at a biblical definition of perfectionism: perfectionism is expecting God to give me in this life what He has promised to give me only in the next. Perfectionists want to live in a world without sin, sickness, suffering, and Satan. The problem is, except for the first and last two chapters of the Bible, we find at least one of these four Ss on every page. It is not until the next life that those of us who know Christ as our Savior and Lord will be free of them.

Have you come to grips with this reality? Or are you frustrated with God for forcing you to live in a corrupted environment? Because of the fall, we live no longer in the garden of Eden but in a world bereaved of its splendor. Perhaps you understand this on an intellectual basis, but do you live your life as though it is true?

Our passage reminds us that, as a part of God’s creation, we have been involuntarily subjected to futility. The world in which we live is broken and full of misery. Apart from Christ, and our belief in the new heavens and new earth, our world is a pretty miserable place to live. But Christians don’t live “under the sun,” as Solomon repeatedly declares in Ecclesiastes—we live “under the Son.” We live not for this life or for this world but for the world and the life that are to come.

The first step in learning to overcome your perfectionistic tendencies may be for you to reevaluate your thinking about the world in which God has placed you. You are living not in paradise but on a battlefield to which He has drafted you to serve as His soldier. To strive for perfection now is an exercise in futility.

Yesterday, we looked at the primary Old Testament word for repent. Today, I would like you to consider the New Testament Greek word for repentance. It is a compound word that combines a word for think with a word for again. In Greek, to repent means to “think again” or to “rethink” something.

To have any hope of losing your perfectionistic tendencies, you must change how you think and how you interpret the world in which you live. You will have to learn to think biblically about all of God’s creation—including yourself. And you will have to reset your affections from this life to the next one.

As you go through your upcoming day, why not meditate on specific ways you can begin to adjust your thoughts, motives, and especially your values in order to gain an eternal perspective on living as a fallen creature in a fallen world? Then give some thought to what it will be like to be free from sin, sickness, suffering, and Satan when the Lord Jesus Christ reveals His glory in you.

Reflect: What exactly do you have to rethink and reinterpret about living in a world that has been cursed by sin?

Act: Spend five or ten minutes today thinking about what it will be like to live in a world without sin, sickness, suffering, and Satan.

An excerpt from Perfectionism: Pursuing Excellence With Wisdom by Lou Priolo. Used with permission.