Today’s guest post comes to us courtesy of Ken Myers, you can learn more about him at the end of this article.

Jesus said “Be Perfect” (Matt 5:48 and 19:21). Given what Jesus said, you may wonder why this piece is entitled “Abandoning Perfection.” Let’s delve into that more and consider a demon that many kids, adolescents and even adults battle with every day: perfectionism. You see, the pursuit of perfection as a Christian is not the same as the pursuit of perfection of the fleshor of selfish goals (what the world might consider to be perfect).

Far too often we chase after worldly goals, whether it is getting the first chair in band, making the varsity sports team, or being the next big Internet sensation making billions off of creating the latest fad website. There isn’t anything wrong with those goals per se, however we do start to encounter problems when we put those worldly goals ahead of literally everything else, including friends, family, and most importantly our faith.

So what does Jesus mean when he calls us to “Be Perfect”? Given that God alone is perfect and Jesus was the example of that perfection in human form, it’s a lot less like perfectionism as WE know it and a whole lot more like “follow my lead and do the best you can to grow in the pursuit of your faith.”The challenge is for us to not put anything before that and to make sure that our faith always remains our top priority.

As a small business owner, this is a constant challenge. Instead of spending time with family, you might try to knock out a couple more contracts or make just one more phone call. Have you ever skipped a church meeting, service or Bible study to get one more thing done at the office? While you may need to do that on occasion out of necessity, you still need to make sure that you set aside time to pursue the goal of being more like Jesus. Sometimes that means abandoning perfection in another area of your life to make progress toward the goals Jesus set for us.

Ken Myers is a father, husband, and entrepreneur. He has combined his passion for helping families find in-home care with his experience to build a business. Learn more about him by visiting @KenneyMyers on Twitter.

Related articles

• Perfection Isn’t the Goal. Jesus Is. (hiking2christ.org)
• The Waters of Faith and Fear – Find Jesus there! (scottstrissel.wordpress.com)
• Selfishness (lumatha.wordpress.com)
• What does it mean to take up your cross? (924jeremiah.wordpress.com)