Slavery to Perfection

In Romans 6:17-18 Paul says,

But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

In this passage, Paul says that we've been freed from sin to become slaves of righteousness. Some people confuse this state with perfectionism. Slaves to perfection are ones who are never satisfied unless their behavior is without fault, their heart is always pure and that every rule is obeyed.

A slave of righteousness on the other hand, is one who understands that present imperfections are covered by the grace of Christ and not made perfect by the effort of the individual.

The greatest difference between a slave of perfection and a slave of righteousness is satisfaction. The perfectionist seems to accomplish more on the surface but inside there is chronic unhappiness. The slave of righteousness doesn't achieve all that needs to be done but because his righteousness is produced by Christ and obtained through faith, he does manage to accomplish the one thing perfectionism cannot produce, peace of mind. Take a close look at perfectionists and you'll see that they're often busy but rarely blissful.

We all seek for the peace of mind that comes from being perfect and righteous with God. Paul reminds us that the only way we can achieve this is by obeying the "teaching" or the gospel of Jesus Christ, and not by hopeless efforts to do everything without error. Praise God for freeing us from the slavery of Perfectionism.