Devotional Guide for Week of June 12, #1 The Perfectionist

The Perfectionist is Principled and Orderly. These realists are conscientious with high ideals and see the world and everything in it as imperfect. They are very critical of themselves and others and may be convinced there is only one correct way to do anything. Perfectionists expect everyone to be perfect and follow the rules. They have problems with suppressed anger, which sometimes results in sudden outbursts of rage unexpectedly. Healthy Ones tend to be moral and highly ethical and unhealthy Ones can become obsessive-compulsive.

1.      Know anyone with a strong Inner Critic? They could be a Perfectionist in the Enneagram style.

2.      What is your “favorite sin”? For Perfectionists, their “sin” is anger. Not that they enjoy being angry, but they set such high standards for themselves and for others they can spend a great deal of time being angry.

3.      In the parable of the prodigal son, it is quite possible the elder brother in the parable is a Perfectionist. He is responsible, orderly, does his duty and quite possibly has never done anything wrong in his life. He also has no juice, no joy, and cannot bring himself to celebrate, or even forgive other people and their repentance.