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1This is the exact opposite to what Christians actually think! The reason we become Christians is because we know that we are not good people. We make mistakes and do wrong things every single day.

The Bible calls these wrong things “sin”. We know that we cannot stop doing these things or get rid of them by ourselves. The Bible tells us that our selfishness stops us from being close to God. It’s like a barrier between us—and no matter how hard we try, these sins just stick to us and the barrier gets bigger and bigger.

We cannot change ourselves. We need someone to rescue us—someone who can save us from our sinful life and give us a new way to live. That someone is Jesus, and He has taken the punishment for our wrongs instead of us.

Christians know that they were the same as everyone else. Helpless, lost and without any chance of making things better. They are people who have come to Jesus for rescue. Even as Christians they are still sinful, because they still make mistakes. The difference now is that their sins don’t stick anymore; they aren’t a barrier between them and God. Christians are no longer lost; and they have a new way of life with God, rather than without Him . . . but it was Jesus who did it all for them.

So Christians should never think or act better than anyone else.

Romans 7:15: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

— Kevin, an Our Daily Bread reader

2The short answer is no! The Bible teaches that either we are good or we are not (check out Luke chapter 18, verse 19). And Jesus makes things crystal clear when He tells us that only God is good. The book of Romans also says that there are no people who measure up to God’s standard of goodness (Romans chapter 3, verse 23). So we are all in exactly the same boat.

The tallest man who ever lived, according to current records, was Robert Wadlow. He measured at 8’11”. Compared to everyone else, he was huge. Photos show him towering over other people. If, however, Mr Wadlow were compared to, say, Mt. Everest, he would seem tiny. Then the difference between his height and an average person would be pretty insignificant.

God’s goodness is like Mt. Everest. We could line up the whole of humanity at the base of the mountain and none of us would even come close. Imagine how silly it would be for people to stand on tip-toes just to look better than the people next to them. It’s a bit like that when we compare who’s ‘better’ in our own lives.

Christians are not people who think they are better than everyone else. They are people who realise none of us measure up to God’s standards, and have asked Jesus to make them right with God, because they know they’re not good enough.

It’s true that Jesus wants His followers to live to please God, following His standards of right and wrong. But the point is He helps them to do it. On our own, none of us can please God. The point of being a Christian is not that we think we’re the best, but that we’ve seen how much of a mess we’ve made—and that we need Jesus to rescue us! The only goodness that Christians have is the goodness God gives as a gift to those who trust Him. It’s a gift that anyone can come and receive.

— Debbi, an Our Daily Bread reader

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