By: Arnie Cole, Pamela Ovwigho, and Michael Ross
“How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure?”
Faith Quest
Read Job 25:1–6
How will accepting yourself as you are help you overcome your hurt?
Faith Trek
In just a few short lines, Bildad captures one of the most important spiritual truths: humans are by nature sinful, and on our own, we can’t stand in the right before God. The idea that we can work our way to righteousness is a dangerous one. It sets us on an endless treadmill of trying to be pure in our own power and then failing miserably. Failure produces guilt that we can’t, on our own, remove. The myth that perfection is possible keeps us on edge, always nervous that we will slip up. And then when we do, we’re plummeted to the depths of despair.
What joy we have today in knowing that we can bust the myth of perfection because God extends His grace to us through His perfect Son. He lived the perfect life we never can, and through the salvation He provides, we are reconciled to God. His Holy Spirit fills our hearts and over time transforms us to be more like Jesus each day.
At the end of this section, Bildad concludes that because we can’t achieve holy perfection, we are the same as maggots and worms. Ah, this is a lie Satan would love for you to believe. If you believe that you are lower than the worms, you will run from God, instead of running to Him. You will keep quiet about your faith instead of boldly proclaiming it.
At the core, the myth of perfection assumes that God’s grace is dependent on you. The awesome news is that it is not! God’s grace is a free gift! We must always remember that while it’s a free gift to us, it came at the enormous price of Jesus’ death on the cross. God does indeed love us so much that He was willing to sacrifice His own Son so that we may have fellowship with Him. What a sharp contrast to Bildad’s contention that we are no better than worms!
When Satan is whispering such lies in our ears, we need to stop and give ourselves a reality check. We cast off the myth of perfection and boldly declare that we are God’s precious child.
Faith Tools
· The myth of perfection assumes God’s grace depends on us and traps us in a cycle of anxiety and guilt.
· We must never forget that God’s grace is a free gift through Jesus.
· PRAY: “Lord, your love overwhelms me. Thank You for sending Jesus to die for me.” Commit to memorize scripture about God’s love and grace that you can use to combat the myth of perfection. In addition to John 3:16–17, consider Ephesians 2:4–5, 8–9 and Romans 5:1–2.
Notes for Growth
A Key Point I Learned Today:
How I Want to Grow:
My Prayer List:
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