I’m a perfectionist. I admit it, but I don’t like it. What I’ve learned over the years is that my perfectionism has hurt my ministry. If you’re a perfectionist, here’s why that trait may hurt your ministry, too.
- You’ll never be perfect yourself. You know that, but those of us who are perfectionists live as if we don’t. We think we must reach an unachievable goal.
- The people you lead will never be perfect. Even Jesus’ disciples were hardly perfect. If you’re a perfectionist, your church members will always disappoint you.
- The people you lead may grow to expect your criticism—and not want to serve. They simply assume you won’t like something because they’ve heard your perfectionist tendencies before—and they aren’t sure they want that stress. They’d rather sit on the sideline.
- You might miss the “glimpses” of God’s work around you. Perfectionists who settle for nothing less sometimes miss small evidences of growth among imperfect, sinful people God still uses.
- You’ll spend much of your time cleaning up somebody else’s work. That’s what perfectionists do: even when they invite others to help, they follow behind them to make sure others do things the way they wanted.
- You’ll risk not using your gifts to their fullest. Whatever your gifts are, it’s tough to use them fully when you’re always doing everything else that others should be doing.
- You’ll fail to lead a 1 Corinthians 12 church. A 1 Corinthians 12 church is made up of believers with different gifts, all finding their place in the church. If everybody must be like you and meet your standards, your church will miss this beautiful mix.
- You won’t allow others to grow in their faith. To put it simply, perfectionists don’t have much patience with people who take their time learning how to walk with God, how to serve Him fully, and how to do all things well.
- You’ll have a tendency to lose your focus on grace. Grace, by definition, assumes failure that we perfectionists don’t like. Frankly, perfectionism and legalism can go hand-in-hand.
- It may be tough for you to receive and teach about God’s forgiveness. Perfectionists seek to earn favor by their works – and they never quite get there since they are not perfect. They often just keep trying harder and harder to gain favor, and they wear out in the process.
- You’ll keep your struggles to yourself. That’s the only real option for people who must get it right all the time. Genuine accountability takes perfectionists into territory they don’t like.
- You’ll likely lose sleep. People who don’t always likewise strive for perfection (that is, like some church members) get in the way of perfectionists reaching their goals – and keep us awake at night in frustration.
- You may not have a lot of friends. It’s tough to have genuine friends when no one can live up to the perfectionist standards you set for yourself and others.
- Perfectionism is idolatry. That’s the bottom line for me. If I expect myself to get everything perfectly right, I place myself in the position of God. That’s nothing less than blatant sin.
If you’re a perfectionist, how has that trait affected your ministry?
