I have loosely followed the Flylady for close to 12 years. I’ll freely admit that I have allowed myself to be “flywashed” by her theories on keeping the house clean. And I am not about to bad mouth her ways or say they don’t work. They work. They work well. If you’re having trouble keeping your home clean, Marla Cilly can really help!
But there is one thing she teaches that I have recently called into question. She tells us that those of us who are not “born organized” are letting our tendency towards perfectionism paralyze us into non action. If we don’t have time to do a job right or perfectly, we do nothing and our home becomes chaos. Again, none of this is false. But somewhere along the way I’ve gotten the impression that my God given human tendency to strive for perfection is a bad thing. And I’ve slipped into complacency. I’ve joined the throngs of people in our current culture who preach that mediocre is good enough.
Is it? Is it wrong to try to be perfect?
My sister forwarded an article to me yesterday about Steve Jobs. I have admired Steve Jobs for most of my adult life. Yes, I know he considered himself more a Buddhist than a Christian. And yes, he certainly had plenty of character traits that were not admirable. A lot of people have criticized him since his death because he was famous for his perfectionism. But the article I read challenges that perfectionism is actually a Godly character trait. Following is a quote from the article by author Gerald Flurry:
The determination to reach perfection is a remarkable quality.
In a very real sense, it points us to God! In Matthew 5:48, ]esus
Christ commands His followers, “Be [or become] ye therefore
PERFECT, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” This
is a profound scripture. It really encapsulates the gospel of God!
It is all about human beings actually becoming like God Himself!
God is a perfectionist!
It’s OK to try to be perfect. The author goes on to describe how Jobs focused in on a few key areas to be perfect in and that’s why achieved such a measure of worldly success. He challenges us to do the same but, unlike Jobs, to focus on perfecting those areas of our lives that will aid us in our eternal success.
How does that translate to my every day? I have to decide what is most important and strive for perfection in those areas. I can’t be a perfect Christian, wife, mother, homeschool teacher and homemaker if I’m also trying to be a perfect writer, photographer, sign language interpreter wanna be, bird watcher and furniture refinisher! I have to zone in on what I really want — or what God really wants for me. That’s my struggle right now. But I’m so inspired and rejuvinated to know that it’s OK to work at being more.
I know I’ll ponder these thoughts more as I go along. If you’re interested in reading the full article visit The Philadelphia Trumpet and sign up for their free newsletter. You will gain access to their archived articles and can search for Steve Jobs and His Burning Passion to be Perfect by Gerald Flurry from January 2012.