The American Dream objective is perfection. Look the best, have the nicest things, date the “right” person, exercise more, eat less, study more, be social more, make more friends, always be smiling, never show what you’re truly feeling and on and on and on…
It’s an exhausting practice trying to achieve the unattainable goal of perfection. What even is perfection? Is it being the person who has all the right answers? The person who makes straight A’s? The person who has a toned body and a six pack? The person who never has conflicts and difficulties at every turn? The person who has flawless skin, teeth and hair? The person who makes all of the “right” decisions? The person with the nicest clothes, the best car and the biggest house?
Whatever your definition of perfection is, you’re probably thinking, “If I can just get 'here,' then I’ll be happy.” But will you be? When is enough, enough? We need to get to the core of the problem and begin to break the chains that the pressure of perfection so tightly binds us with.
If you’re anything like me, then this worldly idea of “perfection” is all-consuming. The thoughts swirling in your mind have a bottom line and it’s this, “In what way can I put myself on display in order to prove my worth?” But what do you have to prove?
The truth of the matter is that perfection is nonexistent. Truly let that sink in. Not a single person you come into contact with has it all together. So why do we allow ourselves to put on “masks” over the people we truly are?
Our generation needs to come to terms with the fact that our identities actually have nothing to do with us and everything to do with Jesus. Who we are is solely determined by who He is.
He is grace. He is peace. He is strength. He is love. He is power. He is mercy. He is joy. He is beauty. He is goodness. He is compassion. He is inspiration. He is everlasting. He is unshakeable. He is never changing. He is constant.
Because He is all these things, you are able to live in the freedom of your identity in Him. You have peace within the heartbreak. You have strength despite circumstance. You have love that is undeniable and all-consuming. You have power when weakness threatens to overtake you. Your past is erased and your mistakes have been forgiven. You are joyful throughout the pain. You are beautiful, cherished, set apart, chosen, dearly loved and longed for and redeemed.
You are all of these things, not because you are entitled to be them, but because “you were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men” (1 Corinthians 7:23). Jesus died on the cross to break the chains of this world, including the pressures of upholding the impossible standard of perfection.
So rest in the love of Jesus. Rest in His holiness, His purity, His goodness, and His grace. Be free and live out your beautiful, unique identity in Christ, knowing that your worth is defined by Him alone…and He has already paid the ultimate price for you.
