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Perfectionism: Pursuing Excellence with Wisdom
When do high standards become enslaving rather than God-glorifying? Lou Priolo explores several definitions of perfectionism to give a full-orbed, biblically nuanced picture. Using thirty-one devotional readings—supplemented with exercises, checklists, and action points—set aside all-or-nothing thinking and learn how to reprogram your conscience using biblical principles. You will find peace and freedom in God’s Word.Endorsements“One of the indelible marks of all true Christians is that we freely confess our own imperfections and press on, cultivating a vibrant, active conscience that is shaped and informed by Scripture. Lou Priolo’s monthlong daily devotional on perfectionism is a wonderfully practical help for any Christian who is grappling with these issues.”
—John MacArthur, Pastor-Teacher, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California
“Lou helps us to pivot away from the bondage of perfectionism and toward the freedom of Spirit-empowered progress. Do you struggle with self-condemnation, self-loathing, or even self-hatred at times? If so, this guide will serve you well.”
—Christine Chappell, Hope + Help Podcast Host, Institute for Biblical Counseling & Discipleship
“In this heart-searching devotional, [Lou Priolo] helps us to look . . . at the sufficiency of Christ and His work on our behalf. His biblical counsel will help many strugglers learn to rest in Jesus and walk in wisdom and grace.”
—Paul Tautges, Pastor; Counselor; Author, Remade
“Lou Priolo taught me how to be a biblical counselor and showed me what it means to live a life that glorifies God. . . . This is a book that I highly recommend, and I will recommend it often.”
—Martha Peace, ACBC Certified Biblical Counselor
—John MacArthur, Pastor-Teacher, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California
“Lou helps us to pivot away from the bondage of perfectionism and toward the freedom of Spirit-empowered progress. Do you struggle with self-condemnation, self-loathing, or even self-hatred at times? If so, this guide will serve you well.”
—Christine Chappell, Hope + Help Podcast Host, Institute for Biblical Counseling & Discipleship
“In this heart-searching devotional, [Lou Priolo] helps us to look . . . at the sufficiency of Christ and His work on our behalf. His biblical counsel will help many strugglers learn to rest in Jesus and walk in wisdom and grace.”
—Paul Tautges, Pastor; Counselor; Author, Remade
“Lou Priolo taught me how to be a biblical counselor and showed me what it means to live a life that glorifies God. . . . This is a book that I highly recommend, and I will recommend it often.”
—Martha Peace, ACBC Certified Biblical Counselor
109 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 29, 2024
23 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Lou Priolo
63 books45 followersLOU PRIOLO is the Director of Biblical Counseling at Eastwood Presbyterian Church in Montgomery, Alabama. A graduate of Calvary Bible College and Liberty University, he is the author of The Heart of Anger , and The Complete Husband. Lou is also a Fellow in the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors. He resides in Wetumpka, Alabama with his wife, Kim, and daughters, Sophia and Gabriella.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 10, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this through with a friend and discussing it.
I’ve been calling myself a “recovering perfectionist” for a year or two— and I have lessened my tendencies a bit, in the Lord’s kindness— but this book showed me I still have a lot of perfectionistic tendencies.
Ultimately, I often still struggle for the desire for control more than I trust the Lord to be in control. I seek perfection in this life over the perfection that is to come in the next life. I expect more of myself than I am capable of.
Lou had such wonderful encouragements, scriptures and words of wisdom to help me meditate on trusting the Lord. I can pursue progress and faithfulness over unobtainable perfection, because Jesus is perfect and has secured that future perfection for me. Amen!
I’ve been calling myself a “recovering perfectionist” for a year or two— and I have lessened my tendencies a bit, in the Lord’s kindness— but this book showed me I still have a lot of perfectionistic tendencies.
Ultimately, I often still struggle for the desire for control more than I trust the Lord to be in control. I seek perfection in this life over the perfection that is to come in the next life. I expect more of myself than I am capable of.
Lou had such wonderful encouragements, scriptures and words of wisdom to help me meditate on trusting the Lord. I can pursue progress and faithfulness over unobtainable perfection, because Jesus is perfect and has secured that future perfection for me. Amen!
April 27, 2025
4.5! Wonderful resource overall. I read it with a friend. I love the 31-Day series!
A few takeaways were...
1. Perfectionists tend to have an all-or-nothing mindset. I realized I can do this with lots of things, even parenting (ex: If I'm not feeling like a super Mom, I can feel like a failure... really unhealthy, ungodly thinking that is void of gospel truth). See Day 10 and Day 13
2. Perfectionism, a word that is not actually in the Bible, actually covers lots of issues the Bible does address - pride, fear of man, a focus on what is untrue, legalism, etc. That was really helpful!
Respectfully, I wasn't tracking with the Day 4's interpretation of Matthew 5:48, which I do think is a verse meant to drive us to see God's complete holiness, our enormous need for God and to trust and rest in the perfection of Christ. His interpretation (or application?) was different, and I'm not sure I could even articulate it.
But, overall, an important resource, and Priolo died before the book was entirely finished, sharing how he thought he probably had cancer on the Day 31 devotional. I'm thankful for his ministry! His book on People Pleasing (Dustin and I call "the dog book") has been instrumental in my life. And, I'm hoping to read his book about teens and anger with my teens this summer.
A quote I want to hang on to - "Christ's Word and Spirit work to effectively replace our unbiblical, misery-producing ways of thinking with biblical, joyous ones."
A few takeaways were...
1. Perfectionists tend to have an all-or-nothing mindset. I realized I can do this with lots of things, even parenting (ex: If I'm not feeling like a super Mom, I can feel like a failure... really unhealthy, ungodly thinking that is void of gospel truth). See Day 10 and Day 13
2. Perfectionism, a word that is not actually in the Bible, actually covers lots of issues the Bible does address - pride, fear of man, a focus on what is untrue, legalism, etc. That was really helpful!
Respectfully, I wasn't tracking with the Day 4's interpretation of Matthew 5:48, which I do think is a verse meant to drive us to see God's complete holiness, our enormous need for God and to trust and rest in the perfection of Christ. His interpretation (or application?) was different, and I'm not sure I could even articulate it.
But, overall, an important resource, and Priolo died before the book was entirely finished, sharing how he thought he probably had cancer on the Day 31 devotional. I'm thankful for his ministry! His book on People Pleasing (Dustin and I call "the dog book") has been instrumental in my life. And, I'm hoping to read his book about teens and anger with my teens this summer.
A quote I want to hang on to - "Christ's Word and Spirit work to effectively replace our unbiblical, misery-producing ways of thinking with biblical, joyous ones."
December 5, 2024
Such a helpful book that I’ve already recommended to several people! Lou Priolo had a few definitions of perfectionism, but two stood out: “Perfectionism is striving after accomplishments more than faithfulness.” And, “perfectionism is the tendency to be displeased with myself about things that aren’t displeasing to God.” If this sounds like an area you struggle with in any way, I suggest you pick it up.
October 23, 2024
Lou Priolo is always worth reading, and this little devotional does not disappoint. Priolo brings Scripture to bear on the heart as he encourages us to excel for the glory of God rather than for all the wrong reasons we try do so. Highly recommended!
August 12, 2025
the summer of tackling these tendencies that i have, wrestling with the truth, and realizing that im not the only one who thinks like this. have a hunch that im gonna come back to this book a LOT. so so good.
March 10, 2025
Fantastic! Challenging and peace-giving.
November 14, 2024
so many annotations that i have not yet organized into WeWrite - will update this eventually!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews