Review by Renee Jarrett
My guess is when most people see the word perfectionism orperfectionist they gloss over it. For myriad reasons, that isn’t their particular struggle. Sure they pay attention to detail, but a perfectionist? That’s a little extreme. However, do you ever get frustrated with people when they don’t do things the way you want them to? Do you ever feel guilty for taking a 20-minute nap because you have too much to do? Are you ever rude to co-workers or family members when they make you look bad? I can answer “yes” to more than one of these questions. Which means in more than one area of my life, I am placing faith in my own (feeble, limited) strength. Perfectionism is the tip of an iceberg, an outward manifestation of a heart that is “worshiping a god of perfection rather than the perfect God.”
In Picture Perfect: When Life Doesn’t Line Up, Amy Baker unpacks these complexities and depths of perfectionism in three sections. In section one, she shares six stories (one per chapter) about people who struggle with perfectionism. She uses these stories to point out how different perfectionism can look in the lives of different people. With each we start to realize our heart has the same sinful tendencies. Part two (chapters 7–10) introduces the process of change and the satisfaction our hearts desire. Here Baker, ministry resource director at Faith Church in Lafayette, Indiana, and counselor at Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries, presents foundational truths that undergird and motivate a heart to change. Finally, part three (chapters 11–22) tackles various issues and setbacks that perfectionists often deal with, from guilt to rest.
Amy Baker. Picture Perfect: When Life Doesn’t Line Up. Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2014. 203 pp. $17.99.
Read more at http://thegospelcoalition.org/article/picture-perfect