Ms. Perfection

[AnaK09]

Has anyone else felt like they can't make any mistakes? I constantly feel like I have to be perfect when I am obviously not. At school they call me Ms.Perfection because I am a christian, straight A student and at the top of my class. I hate it because it is so hard to live up to those standards. I have comfort in knowing that Jesus accepts me as who I am but it is still hard dealing with everyone around me. Any comments?

 

[Jordache]

My dear, you will never be perfect. My family used to call me Miss Perfect. They hated me because I am a Christian and I held myself to different standards. Shortly after I was married my mom caught two of my cousins talking about me at a family get-together. "Who does she think she is... getting married before she gets pregnant? We don't do it like that in this family!"
Its difficult to deal with this, but remember its likely shame that drives most people to react like this. You are all you need to be in Christ regardless of what they say. Don't give in to perfectionism!

 

[rachelsedge]

I understand this all too well, AnaK09.

I grew up a preacher's kid so I thought I had to be perfect for the church's sake and his sake. I didn't tell anyone when I was struggling because I feared that their response would be "Christians shouldn't feel that way" or "Aren't you a preacher's kid?" I have a twin, and back then, I thought she was perfect and so I always felt that I was falling short. I was a good student and got called a "Teacher's Pet" or "Ms. Goody Two Shoes".

But there was no need for me to feel any of that. I should have understood (and do now, at least I'm learning to now) that Christ is who I should imitate. We shouldn't feel pressured to be within anyone else's standards besides Christ's. It's really hard to actually take hold of that in our hearts and minds when we're bombarded with the pressure of expecting to never fail. I would encourage you to maybe find some Bible verses that you hold dear to you and memorize them, and when that box that people put you in feels like it's getting smaller, just repeat those verses in your head to remind you that you are not in their box. You are Jesus' child.

 

[Kizzy]

I always feel like I have to be perfect. Look perfect. Act perfect. Have my life together. Know what I'm doing all the time. I have such high standards for myself that it's completely depressing haha Trying to be perfect is nonsense. No one can be perfect, only Christ was perfect. And he does, like you said, accept us the way we are. I can't be perfect at everything. The more I strive for perfection the more let down I am when I yet again come to realize that I'm not perfect. Being a perfectionist is something that I've been working on for quite some time. We shouldn't look to the world to find our worth. We need to look to Christ. What others say about you shouldn't matter, because you find your identity in him.

 

[Ugly]

I'm not perfect, i know it, and anyone else around me is going to find it out quickly as well. Do i care? No. You aren't perfect. So stop pretending. Learn to stop trying to fool everyone, and start living your own life.