Have you ever been offered the opportunity to lead something or been asked to help with a task outside your comfort zone? Maybe a youth leader asked you to lead devotions, or help with the pre-school Christmas program, or be in charge of running the soundboard during church service. You might have been excited at first because you were entrusted to perform an important task, but then you thought about it and weren’t so sure.
“What if I mess up? What if I embarrass myself because I don’t know what I’m doing? What happens when I don’t do a good job or I fail in front of everyone?” Those are just a few thoughts that we’re probably familiar with when it comes to fulfilling our various vocations.
I’m convinced one reason teens don’t take more leadership roles is the mindset that if it can’t be done to perfection and free of mistakes then it’s not worth doing. After all, why would anyone want to deliberately place themselves into a situation where our anxiety could get the best of us and cause us to mess up, embarrass ourselves, and fail? This is especially true when that embarrassing misstep could be the next internet meme.
The truth is that we miss a wonderful opportunity for God to work in and through us when we pass on opportunities to serve for fear of not performing perfectly. It’s appropriate to have a desire to do well and give proper respect to whatever task we’re asked to do, but we place unnecessary pressure on ourselves when we expect to be perfect and not make any mistakes.
Consider Olympic athletes.
They’re the best in the world at their respective sports, yet rarely do they win a gold medal because they delivered a flawless performance and earned a perfect score; they simply made fewer mistakes than the other athletes. In fact, you could probably find an example of an Olympic athlete who delivered a perfect performance, yet still had at least one judge not give them a perfect score. Chasing perfection leads to frustration, disappointment, and despair that can lead to self-doubt and self-criticism.
Athletes are not the only ones who chase perfection. We do this in our daily lives, and when we fail to reach perfection, we might lose confidence, hope, and the strength to persevere. Making mistakes is never fun, but it is how we learn. The pursuit of perfection is especially hazardous to our faith in Christ.
Some people believe they can get to heaven through their own merit and good works or by living a perfect life. Scripture tells us this is not the case because of our sin. Romans 3:12 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We’re also told that there was only one person who was ever perfect. Jesus was perfect because He was obedient to the Law that we could not keep, and, in His perfection, “became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9).
Knowing that Jesus is the source of our salvation is great, but what about when we make a mistake while trying to obey Him? The reality is that we will fail at times because sin prevents us from ever reaching perfection, but the gospel offers us hope and comfort to encourage us to keep living out our faith as we serve in the various vocations God places us in.
Jesus offers an important reminder that we were not chosen because we’re perfect people.
Instead, we’re chosen because of God’s love and mercy for us. Jesus said that we did not choose Him, but He chose us to go and bear fruit that would abide (John 15:16). He also assures us that, because He gives eternal life, we will not perish and no one will snatch us from His hand (John 10:28). That means we’re not condemned when we mess up or make an honest mistake. It also means we don’t have to be anxious about a lack of skill when carrying out the task God has called us to.
Our vocations, the areas of life where God has placed us to be His witness, are daily opportunities to serve Him as we serve our neighbors. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
God knows we’re not perfect, yet He still prepared good works for us and chose us to carry them out. Sin will always try to pull us away from walking in these works by reminding us that we are not perfect or good enough. In moments of doubt, anxiety, or uncertainty about our ability to perform the task before us, we should memorize the words of Philippians 2:13, which says, “It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” It is not by our effort and skill that we faithfully serve in our vocations, but by God and the Holy Spirit working in us.
We know we will make mistakes and not do everything perfectly, but that’s okay because the blood of Christ has paid for our mistakes and shortcomings. It’s not about our perfect performance, it’s about being perfectly loved by the Savior who took our sins to the cross and still calls us His own. Praise God that He gives us the ability to will and work for his good pleasure through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think people focus on being perfect? What effect does this have on our lives in terms of school, friendship, work, or family life?
- Describe a time when you tried to do something perfectly and it didn’t work out. How did you react? How does the truth that Jesus loves us despite our imperfections bring you comfort and peace?
- Read 1 John 4:16-18. How does “perfect love” remove fear? Who does the work of perfecting love in us?
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