Worldly Perfection VS Being Perfect In Christ

By: Emma Novak

What does it really mean to be perfect?   The dictionary describes a perfectionist as “a person who refuses to accept any standard short of perfection.”  So many people today spend their time trying to live up to the unrealistic expectations set by our society - when really no one can be truly perfect in such a mechanical way.  If you begin to change your mindset and accept yourself for who God made you to be, your whole perspective on life will be transformed. 

So why do so many people struggle with being perfect?  I believe social media plays a huge part in our world and why we are so self-conscious.  I want you to close your eyes and think of every social media platform that comes to mind.  TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, I could go on and on.  But what really is the meaning of all of this?  As humans, we are exposed to so many different social media platforms.  People look at social media as if it is a way to keep in touch with friends (and maybe it is), but what are the side effects of what seems to be harmless apps?  Most people don’t realize how one single scroll can change the lives of many teenagers. 

About 95% of American teens ages 13-17 report using at least one social media platform and more than a third say they use it “almost constantly.”  (National Library of Medicine: Office of the Surgeon General (OSG) 2026).  From my experience, having social media is something that teenagers use out of boredom or even just times of stress and it can be a very unhealthy habit.  It’s almost like people today use social media and scrolling as some kind of therapy in times of distress, when really it can make us feel worse about ourselves.  Most times, when we scroll, we are looking at people and what we think are their perfect real lives.  When really their lives are not perfect.  So, we become self-conscious looking and wishing we could be just like them.  Happy like them.  Perfect like them.  Sadly, the suicide rate in America has increased by 62% and social media is a significant contributing factor to this. (JAMA Network 2007-2021).

Genesis 1:27, says, "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."  People have stopped looking at how God created each of us in His own likeness and image, and just started comparing themselves to one another - when really that is not what God wants for us.   I heard someone once say this: "Imagine painting a picture, you spend so much time on it and you finally finish.  You’re so proud of it.  You spent so much time and effort to make it just how you wanted it to be.  It’s your little creation.  Then you give it to your friend and they start critiquing the picture and telling you everything wrong with it.  How would that make you feel?  You worked so hard on it for somebody to tell you that they didn’t like it.”  That is how we are.  God is the painter, you are the canvas.  He made you just the way He wanted to - you are His little creation.  Yet, you critique yourself and compare yourself and keep saying you're not good enough.  But how does that make God feel?  He is so proud of you, and then you just tell Him that He made a mistake.  The point is you are beautiful and God wants you to love yourself,  just the way you are and accept yourself for who you are.  

Now that you can see what happens when you are more focused on being perfect than following God’s plan,  I would like to share with you what happens when you accept yourself for who God created you to be.  Using one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, meaning “the ability to see things from God's perspective and to discern His will in various situations,” can really help you grow to love who God created you to be.  In the world we live in, it can be difficult to love who you are, but once you do there is no going back.  After you begin to love who God created you to be, your outlook on life can be completely shifted.  Quit trying to worry about what others think of you and take what God thinks of you into consideration only.  

As I conclude my essay, I hope you know how loved you are and that you always remember John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  I want to leave you with one more short phrase to keep in the back of your mind:  God took nine months to create you, and took six days to create the whole world.  Remember that, you are God’s beautiful masterpiece!