presently I am pondering some of the downsides of my perfectionist streak (high/unrealistic/even inappropriate expectations of myself and eventually of others I am in relationship with ... hmmm) in some ways, it has occured to me, a funny thing to have downsides to - 'Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.' (Matthew 5:48) - it's a command of Jesus

... but what does that mean? what does that look like? what should our motives look like? 'cos obviously we cannot be perfect: 'If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.' (1 John 1:8). I guess that partially covers why human perfectionism has a downside - you can't strain out the sin on your own...

but still there's the call to be perfect to be dealt with - you could deal with it by saying that what Jesus did on the cross makes us perfect, his grace received by us in faith makes us perfect in God's eyes ... perhaps the key word is 'be' not 'make yourself' ... we are just to 'be' - as God 'is' - he is perfect because of who he is, not what he does (although that flows out of it) I think that's where I go wrong a lot - I look at the outward stuff, I don't get my heart right with God about what I'm doing and why I'm doing it (where it flows out of) ... if we can 'be' who God has made us - His children, clothed in the righteousness that Jesus bought - then the more we 'are' that, the more we know it - we can 'be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is 'his good, pleasing and perfect will.' (Romans 12:2)

I guess that's what I find the most difficult about following God and the perfection he asks of us - we can't pin it down and say it must look like this. Obviously there's some basic boundaries God wants us to live within, but he's not just interested in the boundaries, he's interested in what goes on within them - that's part of what Jesus was saying to the Pharisees when he said that 'on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.' (Matthew 23:28) 'God looks at the heart'...

btw praise the Lord for Bible Gateway - makes it so easy to find those verses you know are in there somewhere!