Are perfection and excellence the same thing? Can we strive for working hard and still be content to be imperfect? Author and mom Kathi Lipp says yes, and she invites us to rebel against perfectionism and learn to love the way God wired us. Her new book, co-written with Cheri Gregory, is The Cure for the “Perfect” Life.

“Both my coauthor Cheri and I sit in perfectionism but in very different ways. Cheri would work and work until she dropped – for me, it was easier to not start things because I knew I couldn’t do it perfectly. Our lives were being affected by perfectionism in totally different ways.”

Kathi unpacks four bullies we need to watch for:

• Perfectionism
• Procrastination
• Performancisim
• People-pleasing

Kathi calls us back to rest and have confidence in our identity as God’s children.

“God needs obedience, obviously, but God isn’t hanging a standard over us saying ‘Just try harder, and then I’ll love you.'”

God calls us to obey because He already loves us! The free gift of salvation is just that. We didn’t earn it and we can’t un-earn it. Kathi urges us to watch our lives and how we walk out this part of our faith.

“As we look at how God wants us to live, there’s honor in doing the best we can with everything that God has given us but at some point saying ‘Enough.’ That’s healthy. If somebody is upset with us, that’s not the end of the world. God has put unhealthy people in all of our lives that aren’t going anywhere, but we need to make sure the ratio is balanced. That we’re surrounding ourselves with healthy people who love God and are doing what they’re called to do and can support us in that as well. Pleasing God and pleasing men are diametrically opposed to each other so often.”

Key Scriptures: Joshua 1:9

Featured Songs: Flawless by MercyMe; Press On by Building 429; Your Grace Finds Me by Matt Redman

Highlight : What does perfectionism look like?

Rejecting perfection

This program has been previously aired.