Time to Move On…From Perfection
This is a tough one because we are hardwired culturally to pursue excellence/perfection and avoid failure. And when we do fail, our instincts might tell us to do damage control, cover it up, soften the blow, or manage our image. In actuality, failure can be educational and life changing.
And that’s just culturally.
What about the pursuit of perfection in faith?
Two of the biggest faith tribes in our country have flaws at their core that are toxic to our souls. They each take something that is a good thing and make it a God thing. And because of that, these values cause us to slowly cripple under their weight.
Conservative Christians take Scripture (God-breathed, holy, and sacred) and make it into a God thing (perfect, infallible, inerrant). And now, many Christians look at the Bible as a guide, a rule book, and map for their lives. They replace the Holy Spirit with the Bible.
“Progressive Christianity emphasizes the inherent dignity of every individual, affirming that all people, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or social status, are beloved by God. It advocates for inclusivity in worship, church leadership, and community life.” (I asked ChatGPT to sum it up and this is great. I love ChatGPT.)
I deeply resonate with this summation!
But…
Progressive Christians tend to take people (God-breathed, holy, and sacred) and make them into a God thing (individualism, self-expression, “live my truth”). They tend to elevate self above Christ.
Anytime we make a good thing a God thing it’s going to lead to suffering and weight we aren’t meant to carry.
Thankfully, Jesus Christ reveals a 3rd way, a better way, a freeing way to live as people of faith.
God reveals Himself through Scripture and through people, but it’s important that our worship and awe stays on Him. Not because He will punish us if we don’t. But because if we follow Him, He leads us into freedom and the fruit of His Kingdom which is good news to every person on Earth.
Many times we don’t know why we are struggling and if we do, we don’t know how to move forward. We get stuck.
And none of us has the ability to perform surgery on ourselves.
We need to lay down the crowns we’ve put on our heads as masters of our own fate and remember that Christ is the good King. We need someone to follow and to lead us.
In a world where our institutions and political leaders are rife with image control, twisted statistics, corruption, unethical behavior, us vs. them tribalism, and violence, Christ has proved He is the one leader we can trust with our lives. And the sooner we start the journey with Him, the more freedom we get to experience in this life and the next. And the more people that follow Him, the more heaven comes to Earth for others.
I hope you’ll consider the 3rd way of Christ.