In the Pixar film “Ratatouille,” the menacing food critic Anton Ego terrorizes Paris chefs with his perfectionism. With his impossibly high standards — he remarks, “I don’t like food, I love it; if I don’t love it, I don’t swallow” — he builds his own career by tearing down others. Ego may be fictional, but he represents the enemy of perfectionism that is all too real. Is the only way to fight this kind of villainy to play along, or is there something else we can turn to?
By dissecting perfectionism through the lens of the Biblical story arch, we see its true nature: Creation tells us why we thirst for perfection. The Fall tells us what perfectionism has done to our lives. The story of Redemption shows us what victory over perfectionism actually looks like, and Restoration gives us a final hope.
All of us have our own Anton Ego, whether that be a boss, teacher, cultural standard, or (most likely) the voice in our own heads. We understand that we cannot be perfect, but most of us believe that we can be near-perfect at something. We tell ourselves that, finite though we are, if we could just crack one area of life, we might finally be happy.
And perfectionism is so much more than being a detail-oriented, type-A person. I am neither of those things, but after several years in ministry, I have found that my state of well-being often depends on how I feel I am performing or appearing to others. If I believe I am not meeting the visible and invisible benchmarks in both work and personal life — or worse, if someone else points out my failures — I fall apart. Perfectionism terrorizes all personality types, accumulating a menagerie of victims. So, why do we still chase after it?
Perhaps our first issue with chasing perfection is that we do not see it as the villain. Many people would even argue that their perfectionism is the key to their success. This may be true for a time, but it is not sustainable. The target of perfection will keep moving. We may meet our goal in one area, but then realize that success is not enough, and we have neglected the other parts of our lives.
Sometimes success and failure are easy to measure, like grades or a sales quota. Sometimes success is harder to quantify, like ministry achievements or relationships. We compare ourselves to others in our vicinity and strive to meet the Anton Ego standard even though we know it is unrealistic. There is a deep desire in all of us to be better.
The Perfect Creature
Our creation can give us some clues about where this desire comes from. In Genesis 1, we see the sequence and scope of creation. Seven times God surveys his creation and calls it “good.” After he creates humankind, he judges it “very good.” We are the crown of God’s creation, his perfect masterpiece. Dwelling with him in the garden was a perfect existence where all of our needs were met.
I believe the thirst for perfection is the thirst for being declared “very good.” This kind of verdict was impossible for the chefs of Paris to receive from Anton Ego, but all it took to bring down his perfectionism was one bite of ratatouille. Ratatouille is nothing fancy; it’s a peasant dish, roasted vegetables in a simple tomato sauce. But it transported him back to a time as a child when he was loved, safe, and provided for. It took him back home. We long for the home we lost long ago.
Sometimes it feels like we only have three options: keep striving to get better on our own, lower our standards, or give up. I work with college students, and the purity of this desire to be “very good” is why I cannot tell them to abandon their quest for excellence. However, if our creation tells us that our solution to perfectionism cannot be to lower our standards or give up, the Fall reminds us that our solution cannot be to try providing the “very good” life for ourselves.
The Original Perfectionist
Eve was the first perfectionist. Like us, she didn’t see it as the villain but as a chance to provide herself with a better life than the one God had given her. In Genesis 3:5, the serpent tells her that God knows when she eats the fruit, her “eyes will be opened” and she “will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
At this suggestion, both Adam and Eve start to question God’s goodness and provision. Is God really good? Does he know what is perfect for my life? Can I determine for myself what is perfect? Is he withholding something from me? And so they decided to take action against God’s commands, choosing for themselves what was “very good.”
We ask the same questions and make the same decisions every day. Instead of making us better or giving us a better life, our obsession with being the perfect version of ourselves exposes and shames us, pointing out our flaws and failures all the more.
What do we do now? We cannot give up the fight. We need a champion. Our response when faced with the anxious desire to be perfect should be to fall at the foot of the cross. As Christians, we have a unique and life-giving hope. That hope is a person, and his name is Jesus.
In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul says, “for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” We kneel at the foot of the cross because it is there that our imperfection is placed on Jesus and his perfection is placed on us. This is where we are justified and once again called “very good” as new creations. Christ’s redemption shows us that victory over perfectionism actually looks like weakness and surrender, a brave acknowledgement that our own attempts at being “very good” are not enough.
This weakness, emboldened by grace and the knowledge of our standing with God, also primes us for the work of the Holy Spirit in our restoration. In Christ, perfection is no longer an impossible standard but our destination, our final home. We get to strive for a prize that is already won, freeing us to strive for excellence rather than perfection.
Perfection vs. Excellence
“How can you tell the difference between perfectionism and striving for excellence?”
This was the most common question I received when teaching a seminar on this topic over the summer. It was a difficult one to answer, because they often look very similar.
Excellence is seeking to do things to the best of my ability, while acknowledging my finitude and fallenness. Perfectionism chases the delusion that with even more focus and fervency, I can somehow transcend my mortal bonds. Excellence is trying to make the most of what we have, whether at work or in relationships. Perfectionism is an idol that always demands more and is never satisfied, even with excellence.
Someone seeking to diligently and excellently complete their work assignment can look very similar to someone seeking to impress their boss. My answer after each seminar became this: It is not a question of “am I doing enough?” but rather “who am I doing it for?” The one seeking excellence is content with a job well done while the one seeking approval and success will not be satisfied with the same result. It is a matter of the heart, of what we view the purpose of our lives to be.
A greater purpose for our lives than pursuing perfection is love: the love of God that we get to pour out on others because our cup is full and our hearts feel like we just had a large helping of “very good” ratatouille. In the famous love passage of 1 Corinthians 13:4-13, you will not find the description of a perfectionist, but of someone who is resting in the arms of Jesus, able to go forth with strength and a heart positioned toward others.
Resting in Jesus means we can stop seeing the success of others as a threat. We get to rejoice in their excellence and empathize with their failures. This fight against perfectionism is a long battle in which the villain often tricks us into fighting on his side. He targets our fears and gives us false solutions, feeding our fickle ideas of success. It is only when we recognize this as tyranny, surrender to Christ, and rest in his grace that we stand a chance.
Kelley Murphree serves as campus staff for Reformed University Fellowship at the University of Alabama Huntsville.