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“Who can say: ‘I have cleansed my heart, I am clean from my sin’?” Proverbs 20:9
Pride is a uniquely human trait. Certain pride is considered good: pride in your soccer team, pride in your job, pride in your family, etc. Loyal and confident security. I’m not talking about that kind of pride.
There is another type: it is the proud attitude of the sovereign self. It’s the kind of pride that says, “I’m a good person. Yes, I’ve made some mistakes, but overall, I’m not bad. In fact, I’m doing really well, compared to a lot of others.” of the people I know.”
I call it sovereign because essentially it boils down to an individual affirming himself as good, but without defining what that “good” is. Only a sovereign being, who has all knowledge, can legitimately determine that good. And if someone claims to be good, he is affirming that he knows what the quality of “good” implies.
Unfortunately, the Bible disagrees. And yes, I know, THAT is one of the main problems people have with the Bible (and God, for that matter). Because telling someone that they’re not just imperfect, but far from perfect, is taken as an insult to her, well… pride.
Everyone wants to think of themselves in the best possible way. They want to believe that, in general, they are good people. To prove it, they cite all the good things they do: give to charity, lend their time to others, and even attend church. But even more than that, they list all the “bad” things they don’t do. And they reinforce it by mentioning all the people they know or know who do those things.
This is what God says regarding the “goodness” of man:
The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there be any that understand, that seek God. All have strayed, together they have been corrupted; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Psalm 14:2,3
“Sons of men” means all, no one escapes this accusation from God. The eternal God saw then as he sees today that humans are corrupt, inside and out. There is not a person who is otherwise.
People have a real problem with this. I mean, if you want to know where someone is in relation to the Lord and his Word, tell them what He says about the nature of man. Tell them about the depravity of all people. What you will find is that most people react with everything from passive disinterest to furious anger, and many different flavors in between. This truth from the Bible highlights them like nothing else.
Because? I think it stems from people’s innate, proud posture. It is the pride that tells someone that he or she is not bad, actually quite good, and DOES NOT NEED a savior. Accepting something else is lowering yourself, and pride does not allow it.
Indeed, there is a blatant irony in people’s reaction to this accusation of humanity, for a study of the nature of people reveals that the only reason they react so strongly is because they know it to be true. Everyone knows their own shortcomings. And they know a lot more about their flaws than everyone else put together. So while they may claim innocence, their own conscience screams at the falsehood of their words.
What follows this? Guild. Guilt that we are not who we say we are, and thus we prove not only liars, but hypocrites.
Guilt then builds a defense mechanism. He says, OK, I know how morally repugnant I am, I know I’m a slave to degrading passions and lusts, I know I put my wants and needs above others, and I feel horrible about it, but why not? know how bad I really am, I will reject anyone or anything that tells me I’m sick or need help. Because, by default, not doing so would be admission…
And so the cycle repeats.
If ever there was a bleak outlook, this is it. But God, in his love, had another plan…
God’s grace is amazing. No, I’m saying REALLY AMAZING! In love, he saw our need and felt the solution. He saw humanity strangled in selfish and proud thoughts, oppressed on all sides by temptation and sin, as they desperately sought to show themselves as self-assured and successful. And he saw the endless cycle of failure, cover-up, failure, cover-up… and he knew that man would never achieve the perfection he so desired.
because man Couldn’t reach perfection God had to send someone who could!
Enter Jesus Christ. The God-Man, come from heaven but born of a virgin, living a sinless life while giving loving compassion to those who least deserve it. While he blessed, he was cursed. While he gave, he was robbed. While he loved, he was hated. While he spoke the truth, he was told about him. While he encouraged him, he was mocked.
Yes, Jesus came to this earth to save those who were lost in their sin, lost in their failure. Because no matter what they said about themselves, God knew who they really were. They needed salvation!
When Christ went to the cross, he went to bear the eternal penalty for the sin of the world. The enormous and eternal weight of darkness and death fell on Him, and He willingly took it, that we might be delivered from the curse of it. He was the only righteous one, the only person who could ever claim complete holiness, and therefore, He was the only acceptable sacrifice to God his Father to remove the curse of sin.
And surely He did just that. His death paid the penalty, and his resurrection claimed victory, so those who accept his gift of love will never have to. That’s right, we don’t bear the guilt or the shame or the punishment for sin because He already did it for us.
So, in an eternal sense, we as followers of Christ we can say that we are clean and pure. Not by our own doing, but by his doing, yes, we are washed!
And what’s next? Trust. Warranty. Hope. and Faith.
now that it is something to be proud of.