“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them bythe truth; your word is truth.As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified (John 17:14-19).”
Are you a perfectionist? Has anyone ever referred to you as having a Type A personality? While being organized and having a leadership personality isn’t sin in and of itself, the enemy can use these otherwise honorable personality traits to wear us down, isolate us and cause us to be ineffective for the things of God.
As I was reading through scripture today I realized, perfectionism has definitely translated into a sin I struggle with. There are people and things I still want to control:
“If anyone causes one of these little ones –those who believe in me– to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.” ~Mark 9:42
“Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.” ~Arthur Golden
When I was four or five years old. My mom had me stand at the top of the stairs in our thousand square foot, split level house, and jump into her arms in an attempt to explain Faith to me. Faith that she’d catch me. Faith that there was a God who sent His son to die for me.
I’m sure her intentions were pure, but unfortunately the only thing I took away from the conversation that night was that there was this really scary place called Hell. And, if I didn’t say a special prayer to God, I was going to burn in the lake of fire for all eternity.
