painfully perfect
May 20, 2009
You are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith (v.23).
READ: Matthew 23:1-24
He had a warm, wide smile that belied the anger that would flare up at a moment’s notice. My friend’s dad was a complex man—a loving, thoughtful neighbor—but a perfectionistic, controlling father.
He’s gone from this life now, but his children still bear the wounds of never measuring up, never being able to do things perfectly, never being able to truly please their tightly wound dad. His house was spotless, but his ways at home were merciless. He strove for perfection, but it led to his children’s destruction.
Jesus had strong words for the Pharisees, a group of religious leaders who were good at heaping guilt on people through a perfectionistic view of following the Law. He said, “They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden” (Matthew 23:4).
In other words, people who fell beneath the weight of trying to follow the Old Testament Law—as well as a slew of man-made ones—were neither helped nor supported by the Pharisees. They would “tithe even the tiniest income,” while ignoring “the more important aspects of the Law” (v.23). These included important matters like mercy.
Jesus is merciful. In contrast to the Pharisees’ ways, He will “give you rest” and stated that “the burden I give you is light” (11:28,30).
Are you, or is someone close to you, painfully perfect? Is your constant striving for perfection destroying others?
If so, it’s time to remove the shackles of perfectionism and replace them with Jesus’ light, loving burden. We glorify God as we do our best for Him. But that doesn’t mean we will be perfect in all our ways.
Only Jesus was perfect (Hebrews 9:14). Our human efforts won’t get us there (Galatians 3:3). Instead, let’s reflect Jesus’ example of grace and mercy to others—especially those closest to us. —Tom Felten
What is the difference between being “made perfect” (Hebrews 10:14) by Jesus’ sacrifice and human perfectionism? How can you show to others the mercy God has shown to you?
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