Set Me Free: Devotions From Time of Grace MinistryNäide

SET ME FREE FROM MENTAL PRISONS: PERFECTIONISM Do you have friends who always seem to criticize and never praise? Worse--did your own mother simply make demands on you and never let you know that you had done anything well? Do you still live in fear of her criticism? Do you dread your father's constant disapproval of your decisions? Worst of all--do you beat yourself up because nothing you have ever done seems good enough? What makes people so perfectionistic? Perhaps they grew up on a steady diet of criticism. Perhaps they are even more insecure than you. You can't control what other people say to you, but you can decide whether to accept their judgment or not, and you can control how you talk to other people. Here is St. Paul's therapy for healing strained relationships: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32). There has been only one perfect human being, and his name is Jesus. Get this--through your faith in him, God considers you as perfect as Jesus is. If he likes you and accepts you, you can like and accept yourself.