Flawed and Free in Christ
I recently saw a social media post from a Christian influencer that got me thinking about the perfectionism we often see in new-age spiritualist leaders and teachers… versus the testimonies we hear from Christians. The post was:
“Telling people about Jesus while I struggle with my own faith and sin feels so hypocritical… But then I remember, it’s not MY perfection that tells the story. It’s His grace and mercy working in me even in my weaknesses. If He can love me where I am, then maybe someone else can know and be loved right where they’re at, too.”
The reason why this struck me is because new-age teachers are selling you THEIR healing plan. Their solutions. Their techniques. For healing, happiness, peace, safety, etc., whereas Christians use their broken-to-healed testimonies to point others back to God to utilize HIS healing plan. To show what He can do. How He can provide everything we need. The main difference is that new-age influencers must always project a confident, perfected, healed lifestyle and can’t ever display their flaws, failures, or struggles. Why? Because no one is going to buy healing services from someone who looks like their whole life is falling apart…
Meanwhile, Christianity demonstrates (requires) the exact opposite. Christ is our strength when we are weak. He is our savior. He is the necessary corner stone in our healing journey! We lay down our burdens and allow Him to carry them. It’s our brokenness that lifts Jesus up on that cross for us. Christianity completely frees people from ever having to project perfectionism. We use our pain to point to Him; we highlight our flaws, not hide them. Let’s look a little deeper…
The New-agers:
Beautiful social media pages. Fancy studio spaces. Flawless video editing. High grade photos and professional websites… These things are all very pretty, but they’re meaningless sales tactics if the content creator behind them is a fraud. Not only that, the pressure to maintain perfection must be crushing some of these people. It’s honestly hard to watch, and I feel sorry for them.
➡️ Most individuals who are suffering and looking for healing or support aren’t attracted to perfectionism, so this tactic is probably pushing away the target customer for these “wellness” businesses.
➡️ Raw authenticity is often lost behind photos of forced smiles, “look at my happy life” posts, and layers of sales pitches.
➡️ New-age teachers will eventually begin to drown in the conundrum of: How do I express my true self while also giving “healed” vibes.. when I’m still working on myself, but want to appear put together.. while also being honest about my problems, while also selling wellness services?
Eventually, the pressure to perform will become too much and their whole system will come crashing down.
The Christians:
➡️ Zero pressure to be perfect. We are proud to be flawed and broken, and gladly showcase our pain-to-healing testimonies to point others to God! We freely show the world how He turns pain into purpose for His Kingdom! We are made whole only in Christ Jesus.
➡️ Our NEED for His finished work on the cross gives Him all the power of healing, redemption, forgiveness, grace, and saving. Removing Jesus from the healing plan means taking on all of that perfection yourself! And then trying to lead others to healing all on your own? That is weight in which God never intended for humans to carry…
➡️ We are not meant to save anyone. We’re only meant to point others to the only one who CAN save them. The freedom of living as a saved Christian removes that insatiable NEED to be the rescuer of others— a toxic projection of unhealed pain. We simply never try to save anyone on our own because that dethrones the entire purpose for Jesus’ finished work on the cross.
I hope this comparison was helpful and clarifying! May God bless your journey to freedom.
With Love, Michelle