Me:  Prodigal, you have batter all over your face and also there seems to be batter all over your pan on the sides.

 

Prodigal:  Yeah, I am baking.  I am not perfect and little messy, but I am having fun!

 

Me:  I think the key is that you have joy and I am not expecting you to be perfect!  Let me share more on the subject of being perfect from Chuck Swindoll.

 

Being fellow members of one another, we understand that becoming a Christian in no way ushers us into a life of perfection, erasing our humanity and eradicating our depravity.

If all that actually happened, then why in the world is the Bible filled with counsel on forgiving others, understanding their failures, and focusing on their strengths?  It is one thing for an unbeliever to expect perfection- I can live with that and tolerate it fairly well–but it’s most disconcerting to be pushed into a perfection mold by brothers and sisters!

Oh, I understand that our example is Christ…and that our standard is high…and that our motives are often good.  But it needs to be said again and again and again:  Christians are not perfect, just forgiven.

How quickly the thin thread of freedom snaps as heavy weights of perfectionist expectations are placed upon us!  Christ Jesus never did that with His own.  When people were near Him there was this incredible magnetism because of an absence of unrealistic expectations and subtle demands and manipulative devices.   He did not use pressure tactics.  He simply accepted people as they were.

A paralysis sets in when we operate in the choking context of the perfection-expectation syndrome.  Fed by fear and guilt, the Christian becomes a victim of others rather than a victor in Christ.  You see, we ultimately act out those pressures and thereby limit our potential.

I am not perfect and it does not take much time for that to make it self apparent if you talk to me at all.  I don’t expect you to be perfect it either.  Let’s agree that the focus should be on Christ.  Let’s agree so that we don’t increase fear and guilt in others or ourselves.

 

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 

Jennifer Van Allen,

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org