“For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 CORINTHIANS 15:9-10
PONDER THIS
Are you more project-minded or process-minded? A perfectionist always has goals and is always striving to reach those goals. He’s discontent until the project is done, but when the project is done, he’s never satisfied. So, he starts another one. He just keeps on pushing, or perhaps he won’t even start a project because his procrastination says it’s got to be perfect. These are two sides of the same coin. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Do you dwell on failure or do you learn from it? A perfectionist can’t let go of his failures. He feels that he has to punish himself because he failed. After all, he believes God will not forgive him, so why should he forgive himself? But Paul, who said, “I am what I am by the grace of God,” also previously made havoc of the Church.
God wants to grow our relationship with Him and take us deeper from just hearing the Word to living it out. We can become people who embrace the process, people who learn from our failures, and people who grow from criticism. In Christ, we are no longer stuck in our old ways.
Are you more likely to be driven by constant goals or procrastinate to avoid goals? Why?
Who are the people that keep you accountable to follow Christ when you get caught up in the performance trap? How difficult do you find it to share with them and listen?
PRACTICE THIS
Pray and confess to God where you have gotten caught in the performance trap. Ask Him to help you to grow in your dependence on Him instead.
LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers
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