3 Reasons Not To Dwell On Perfection

I used to style my hair; however, I grew tired of it.  Not because I didn’t like the style, I just got tired of spending each morning styling my hair.  As a man I have more important things to do, like trim my beard.  But, what was really frustrating about styling my hair is that no matter how hard I tried I never got it perfect.  It never looked like the way other people had theirs or the way the stylist did mine.  Now I just grow it out and buzz it.  It doesn’t look perfect, but then again does it have to be?  And what does that mean if it is perfect?
You might not have a hair problem; however, how often have you dwelled on perfection to the point that you missed out on an opportunity or worst lost the trust of your followers?
There is this fear of being imperfect.  Many of us will deny having this fear; however, most of us suffer from it in some form or capacity.  If we aren’t perfect we don’t look:

• Put Together
• Successful
• Confident

And the list could go on.  But if we dwell on perfection for too long we could suffer some major consequences.  The problem with dwelling on perfection is that:

• It Hides Authenticity – When you try to be perfect you tend to bend the truth.  When you alter the truth you are lying and when you lie you will get caught.  And, when you get caught people lose trust and even leave your leadership because you aren’t what they thought.  Stop the act, embrace your flaws and try to live Holy.  Don’t pretend to be something you are not. (How you can get stronger with your weaknesses)

• It’s Too Safe – No one wants to fail, but sometimes we need to fail.  With big risk comes great gain.  And even if you fail you can always come back, and learn.  Failure brings learning experiences; however, if we wait for the perfect moment, we could miss out on something big (Check out what else failure brings).  Playing it safe and even being indecisive can be worse than making the wrong decision and failing.  People want a leader willing to lean in and put it all on the line. 

• Ministry Is A Movement – Granted there is always tweaking and tinkering for perfection; however, if we try to be perfect we forget that with life we are supposed to change.  You’ll never be perfect, because life is a growing process.  Even if you find a successful model for your ministry, you’ll need to adapt.  Ministers will leave, teens change, and the culture around you is evolving.  If you build it and are done, than you can start counting the days until your ministry is totally irrelevant. (How to know if you are standing in the way of growth)

You should strive for greatness, and a high level of excellence.  It’s tempting to dwell on perfection because in perfection there is no pain, nor failure.  But, dwelling on perfection means avoiding reality, hiding from the obstacles and not moving forward.  It’s okay to fail, and it’s okay to show your imperfections.  Don’t believe me? Open up the Bible, study any great leader and if they aren’t named Jesus you’ll find a few flaws.

Share your thoughts.