Devotionals for the Heart: When God's standards for living seem too high

Impossibly High Standards
A devotional by Suzanne Felton

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

—Matthew 5:48 (NIV)

Of all the verses in the Bible, I think I’ve wrestled with this one (above) more than any other. As a perfectionist and rule-follower by nature, I want to be perfect. I want to get everything right every time. I hate making mistakes.

Perfection is the ultimate high standard, so shouldn’t we all strive to be perfect? In this verse (above) spoken by Jesus Christ, the answer is yes. But I’m not perfect. And I can’t be, no matter how hard I try. It’s hopeless.

Romans 3:23 clearly tells us that no one (apart from Jesus) is perfect. It says, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (NIV). When we fall short of perfection, we tend to start comparing ourselves to others. Either we look for some way to make ourselves feel superior to someone else (thinking: At least I’m not as bad as she is.) or we put ourselves down and feel sorry for ourselves (thinking: Who could love a loser like me?). Neither of these mindsets are pleasing to God.

Part of the problem is that humans tend to define perfection by human standards. It feels good to get a perfect score on a test, play a perfect game, or have a perfect driving record. Those things are nice, but they’re insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But how often do we think in terms of wanting things like the “perfect” job, a “perfect” body, or a “perfect” relationship? We try to meet the world’s standards through our own efforts, but there’s always someone else who we perceive as having more or doing it better than we do.

When Jesus speaks of being perfect, He is not referring to worldly standards. He’s taking about following God’s laws perfectly. The writer of Psalm 119 expresses a longing to follow God’s laws perfectly while knowing that it’s not humanly possible. He wrote, “You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees. Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands” (Psalm 119:4-6 NIV).

I think that perfectionism is part of human nature. We all want to get things right. No one likes to fail. But we all do, all the time, and when we measure ourselves honestly by God’s standard of perfection, our failure seems even greater. If we all have an innate desire to be perfect, but none of us can achieve perfection, then why did Jesus tell us to be perfect?

A turning point of understanding Christ’s command to be perfect came for me when I finally read Romans 3:23 and the verse that follows it as one complete thought. It reads, “. . .for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24 NIV). The Apostle Paul wrote the Bible book of Romans. He doesn’t end this sentence after pronouncing us all to be sinners and failures. He writes that, yes, we are all sinners who fall short of God’s standard of perfection, and we are all justified, or made right again, through the death and resurrection of His Son (Jesus Christ).

When we realize that we are all sinners, we can stop comparing ourselves to each other. No one can measure up to God’s perfect standard, and God’s standard is the only one that matters. We’re all in the same boat: equally sinful and equally deserving of God’s punishment. The wonderful news, though, is that we are also all equally loved. God’s gift of salvation through Christ is freely available to everyone who will receive it. Jesus is the way to perfection for all of us.

I love the way The Message version of the Bible translates Hebrews 10:14-15. Scripture reads, “It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process.” God is our Creator. He made us, and He knew all along that we would never be able to keep his laws perfectly through our own efforts. I believe He gave us that innate desire for perfection not just to show us how far short we fall, but to draw us to Jesus.

Christ’s command to be perfect in Matthew 5:48 is both a reminder that we all need perfecting as well as an invitation to be perfected by Him. God’s impossibly high standard will never change, but neither will His boundless love for us. Now that’s perfect!

Let’s Pray: Dear God, I know that I fall far short of your perfect standard. Thank You that I am not a hopeless case because I am made perfect through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Lord! In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “How Marvelous” by Austin Stone Worship. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Suzanne Felton has been a writer for most of her life, even before she realized it. 

She has worked in a wide range of settings, from non-profits to science labs to government contracts to educational classrooms, all of which involved writing in one form or another.

Suzanne is amazed by the power of words and now uses her passion and experience to help authors and students as a writing coach. Encouraging others to find the words and the courage to share their stories is one of her greatest joys.

Suzanne’s devotionals have been published in periodicals and blogs including The Upper Room, The Love Offering, Keys 4 Kids, and The Swallow’s Nest. She is also a two-time finalist in the Cascade Christian Writing Contest for poetry.

She is a wife, mother, writer, reader, teacher, deep thinker, and sinner saved by grace. Suzanne and her family reside in Northern Virginia, but Suzanne will always call her native South Carolina home.

Married to her best friend for twenty-five years, Suzanne is active in her church, where she and her husband have served as deacons for over a decade. They enjoy watching sports and visiting national parks with their two teenage sons. Suzanne is also an avid birder, easily and happily distracted by anything with feathers.

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Connect with Suzanne:
Website: https://suzannefelton.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/l_suzanne_felton
Email address: suzannefeltonwriter@gmail.com