Category: Devotional Thoughts

Selective Perfectionism

There is a time for everything,
     and a season for every activity under heaven
-Ecclesiastes 3:1

I believe in excellence.  I believe God is honored when we discipline ourselves, develop our talents, and use them for His glory (see also: Excellence: Stand Before Kings).  I believe we owe it to God to learn what we are good at, then do our best to become great at it.

But I’m not advocating perfectionism–demanding that every single thing in your life be perfect.  Trying to be perfect in everything might just keep you from focusing on anything.  It’s also a pretty good way to drive yourself crazy.

Maybe you could call my philosophy “selective perfectionism.”  There are a few things which I’m constantly trying to improve (writing and speaking, for example).

Selective perfectionism also means being flexible.  Yesterday, for example, I accepted a last-minute invitation to speak to a group of students.  The campus is nearby, and they just needed me to talk about something for a few minutes.   It wasn’t my best lecture, but it was the best I could do given the circumstances.  It turned out to be an enjoyable opportunity to serve students.

Do a few things, and do those few things well.   Always leave room for failure and progress.

Self Deception

Last week I preached from 2 Samuel 11—King David’s fall into sin (the message was entitled “David’s Scandal”).
Here’s one of the introductory statements I made:

We are very good at deceiving ourselves—no one is immune.

I quoted this Bible verse:

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 
– Jeremiah 17:9

I wish this wasn’t true, but it is. I wish it wasn’t true of me, but it is.

Think back to the most embarrassing sin you ever committed. Somehow, if only for a moment, you managed to convince yourself of a lie. You disregarded God’s commandments. You hardened your heart to what God was telling you. You decided the rules didn’t apply to you.

We’ve all been there, and David was a prime example. He knew what it was like to walk with God. He trusted God to defeat giants and enemy hordes. He refused to take Saul’s life, even while Saul was pursuing him with murderous intent.

But even this great man of God deceived himself. He could have had any woman in his kingdom except Bathsheba, yet he chose her. His adultery would lead to a coldly calculated murder of one of his own faithful soldiers. He couldn’t see his own wickedness until confronted by Nathan, God’s prophet.

If it can happen to David, it can happen to any one of us. We are masters of self-deception. Accept this truth—embrace it. Doing so will free you of pretenses and allow you to see yourself as you truly are. This requires bravery—it is a frightening process. But the end result is a closer walk with God and freedom from sin.