My life, and my mental health, improved a lot when I accepted three facts as both unavoidable and acceptable:
1. I do some things well.
2. I do some things poorly or not at all.
3. I do a whole lot of things well enough to get by.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to other people. If you pick the right skill set and the right people to compare to, this can lead to pride. In other skill sets it can lead to a sense of failure.
Sometimes we can waste time trying to develop skills and abilities we aren’t suited for or don’t really need because we don’t like having to depend on other people, or because someone else told us they’re important. Sometimes we are afraid to learn something “well enough” because we know we’ll never excel at it.
God, I believe, recognizes both our abilities and our limitations. (Think of the parable of the talents, for example).
God’s call to perfection isn’t to be the absolute best in everything we do as much as it is to make the absolute best of what we have been given.
Paul talks a lot about spiritual gifts and how we don’t all have the same gifts, but we do all have gifts. Using our gifts to the fullest allows us to contribute to the building of God’s kingdom. Being envious or dismissive of someone else’s gifts, or trying to force people into callings they have not received from God, lead to conflict and defeat.
So, in striving to be perfect in love, focus on asking God to lead you to be motivated by love, and to not be motivated by self.
We will still have weaknesses that limit us: our physical health, our mental and emotional health, the circumstances of our lives. We will always be limited by what we know and don’t know. And, we will always make mistakes.
None of those things, though, excuse us from always seeking to desire and to work toward doing all and only what God leads us to do.
– Rev. Mark Fleming
This is part of a sermon/reading series in July-August, 2024, looking at some core Christian beliefs, along with distinctive emphases of the Methodist branch of Christianity.
The daily readings are my own, but they are loosely based on the topics covered in the Catechism of the Global Methodist Church. The column at the right contains the questions from the catechism and the sources it lists.
You can find the full catechism and other information about the Global Methodist Church at globalmethodist.org.
I invite you to join us for worship and other church gatherings at China Methodist Church and Forest Park Methodist Church.
Respectful conversation is welcome. Use the comment section at the end of this post.
From the Catechism of the Global Methodist Church:
74. Does sanctification deliver us from the weaknesses of human nature?
No. We believe this experience does not deliver us from the infirmities, ignorance, and mistakes common to humankind, nor from the possibilities of further sin.
Psalm 86 [A prayer to God for mercy and forgiveness] Read it here
1 Corinthians 10:12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 … or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Hebrews 3:12-15 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
Hebrews 10:26-39 [Do not continue sinning after receiving the knowledge of truth] Read it here
Revelation 2:2-7 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Confession of Faith Article XI* We believe sanctification is the work of God’s grace through the Word and the Spirit, by which those who have been born again are cleansed from sin in their thoughts, words and acts, and are enabled to live in accordance with God’s will, and to strive for holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Entire sanctification is a state of perfect love, righteousness and true holiness which every regenerate believer may obtain by being delivered from the power of sin, by loving God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by loving one’s neighbor as one’s self. Through faith in Jesus Christ this gracious gift may be received in this life both gradually and instantaneously, and should be sought earnestly by every child of God.
We believe this experience does not deliver us from the infirmities, ignorance, and mistakes common to man, nor from the possibilities of further sin. The Christian must continue on guard against spiritual pride and seek to gain victory over every temptation to sin. He must respond wholly to the will of God so that sin will lose its power over him; and the world, the flesh, and the devil are put under his feet. Thus he rules over these enemies with watchfulness through the power of the Holy Spirit.
75. How shall we hold on to such a blessing?
We must respond wholly to the will of God so that sin will lose its power over us; and the world, the flesh, and the devil are put under our feet.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may liveand that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Joshua 24:15 “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Psalm 37 [The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord] Read it here
Proverbs 3:5-8 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
Matthew 8:18-22 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Mark 8:34-38 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.For whoever wants to save their lifewill lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
James 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Confession of Faith Article XI* We believe sanctification is the work of God’s grace through the Word and the Spirit, by which those who have been born again are cleansed from sin in their thoughts, words and acts, and are enabled to live in accordance with God’s will, and to strive for holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Entire sanctification is a state of perfect love, righteousness and true holiness which every regenerate believer may obtain by being delivered from the power of sin, by loving God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by loving one’s neighbor as one’s self. Through faith in Jesus Christ this gracious gift may be received in this life both gradually and instantaneously, and should be sought earnestly by every child of God.
We believe this experience does not deliver us from the infirmities, ignorance, and mistakes common to man, nor from the possibilities of further sin. The Christian must continue on guard against spiritual pride and seek to gain victory over every temptation to sin. He must respond wholly to the will of God so that sin will lose its power over him; and the world, the flesh, and the devil are put under his feet. Thus he rules over these enemies with watchfulness through the power of the Holy Spirit.