“Based on those passages from Jesus and Paul,” said Piper, “I conclude that there’s a sense in which we ought to be hard on ourselves.” But even in the process of sanctification, Piper believes it is possible to be hard on ourselves in the wrong way.
The problem is not in having high standards; Jesus has called us to high standards. The problem is in how we react when we fail to meet those standards. If we examine our emotions when we fail, our responses can tell us whether we are being too hard on ourselves in a way that is sinful.
For example, a “loss of joy in the Lord” is a sign that we are being hard on ourselves in a way that does not honor God. “If you become brooding and gloomy and sullen, and if you, in general, lack the hope-filled joy that Christ gives, you’re not handling your failures in a faith-filled, Christ-exalting way,” said Piper. Anger is another sign that we are not honoring God by the way we are trying to meet his standards. This anger can be self-destructive, and it can be harmful to the people in our lives. Said Piper, “Very often we take out on others our frustrations with our own sense of failure.”
A third sign that we are off-base is when we experience “paralyzing fear or anxiety” about our lives. If we cannot even attempt something because we are afraid to fail, that means we are not trusting Jesus.
Piper concluded by offering Paul’s words in Philippians 3:12-14 as an example of what it looks like for believers to be at peace while pursuing Jesus with their whole hearts. The passage says:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Paul does not dwell on his past failures or successes here. In fact, he has just finished saying that his successes are “garbage” compared to knowing Jesus, and he is entirely focused on following Jesus.
“Remember,” said Piper, “Christ has made you his own. That changes everything about how you run your race.”
