So, we’re Christians. We go to church, we study the Bible, and we try to live morally.
We are all consumed with sin, no doubt, so it is a constant battle to try and live the way Jesus did. Impossible, really.
Something a lot of us do, though, is read the stories in the Bible and try to interpret the message… from a distance. Without always taking into account the fact that we are the people described in the Bible, we often (secretly) find comfort in comparing ourselves and deciding that we aren’t as damaged as some of them.
But we are damaged. We will go as far as taking into account the way God reacts so we can try to correct our wrongdoings, but we don’t see ourselves as the leper, the blind man, or the beggar. We are quick to judge others and even define them as “bad people”, but we aren’t as open to defining ourselves the same way.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” -Ephesians 2:8
God’s desire for us is to live in His image and to have a relationship with Him. We shouldn’t be patting ourselves on the back for the ways we haven’t screwed up. We should be asking forgiveness for the ways we have.
Do you feel like you sometimes excuse your own bad behavior but not others?