These 10 scriptures are the perfect antidote for self-righteousness and pressure to be perfect
Article By Toby Patterson // EEW Magazine // Spiritual
You should never look down on yourself or anyone else for failing to be perfect. Here’s why: It’s impossible. Nobody gets everything right every minute of every day!
Whether you have been needlessly striving for perfection, demanding it of others, or allowing self-righteousness and arrogance to take root in your heart, these 10 scriptures serve as the “perfect” antidote.
Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Everybody stumbles. Give yourself (and others) some grace and room to grow.
Romans 3:10: “As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one.” Even when you’re having a good day and feel like you’re spiritually on point, there is no righteousness in you. It is in Christ alone.
Proverbs 26:12: “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Wisdom comes from God. Godly wisdom comes from His word. Feast on Scripture.
Romans 2:1: “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.” Be careful about judging others and putting them down when they make mistakes. If you open your own closet, skeletons will come tumbling out.
Ecclesiastes 7:20: “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” If you’ve messed up lately, join the club. If you’re on the right track, be in the club that doesn’t demand perfection from others who are merely human and mistake-prone as you are.
Romans 5:8: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” None of us has room to feel special, as if it was our own doing that saved us. When we were unworthy and lost, Christ still shed His blood on Calvary. That’s love!
1 John 1:8: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” A lot of people think keeping the commandments and going to church regularly makes them sin-free. It doesn’t. As long as we are in a fallen world, our sin nature is ever-present. But thank God for Jesus!
Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” This verse is key to an authentic relationship with Christ. If we assume our works saved us, we make the gift of salvation through Christ meaningless. You don’t work for God’s love and approval. You accept it as a free gift by faith.
Mark 10:18: “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Jesus, who was God in the flesh, was not saying that He wasn’t good. He, in fact, calls Himself the ‘good shepherd.’ The man who called Jesus good in this passage used the term in reference to works. Jesus wanted to challenge the man to really think about the implications of His words. He was not good because of works. He was good because He was God. The man needed to see Christ’s divine nature. Case and point, goodness is not a behavior or action. God is good and goodness is God.
Isaiah 64:6: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Only the blood of Jesus cleanses us from unrighteousness. When you accept Christ as your personal savior, your sins are washed white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).
Prayer: God, when I feel tempted to strive for perfection, or look down on others and judge them for their mistakes, please let me remember these verses. Help me be mindful that it is Christ’s blood—not my own works or anyone else’s—that has power to save from sin. And teach me daily to accept your endless grace and mercy, as I extend it to others. In Jesus’ precious name I pray, Amen.
