Imagine a flock of fluffy white sheep grazing contentedly in a lush green pasture. We might say, “Oh, don’t those sheep contrast beautifully against the green pasture?” Picture now the same flock of sheep huddled together in a snow-covered meadow. The problem is that we can barely see the sheep against the whiteness of the snow.
That’s a picture of what happens when I compare myself against human standards. I begin to say, “Hey, I’m not so bad after all. Take Harry, for example. He’s a much worse person than I am. In fact, he’s got a police record!” And Susan? Well, she always did have a reputation and was on the wild side. I look like a saint compared to her!”
God says that type of thinking must go! I need to contrast myself–not against the goodness or badness of others-but against the righteousness and holiness of God! When I begin to examine my own life, I find there tremendous tendencies to go the wrong way. I find an overwhelming inclination to sin. I’ve never committed the act of murder, yet there have been times when I’ve spoken words in anger that have “killed” another’s reputation. I’ve never committed the outward act of adultery, and yet there have been times I’ve looked with a lustful eye. I’ve never robbed a bank, yet there have been times when I’ve robbed God of tithes and offerings belonging to Him.
I’ve sinned, and if you’re going to be honest with yourself, you’ll need to admit you’ve sinned too. When we begin measuring ourselves against God’s holiness, we both come out at the short end of the stick, don’t we? When we see ourselves as God sees us, we then need to say with Isaiah, “Woe Is me. I am ruined!” (Isaiah 6:5). When Job saw his sin against God’s standard he declared, “I am unworthy!” (Job 40:4). When Peter realized his sinfulness before Jesus, he fell at Jesus’ feet and proclaimed, “Go away from me, Lord; (for) I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8).
When you and I see our own sin against the purity of God’s holiness, our own sin becomes all the more evident. As we realize we are ruined … unworthy … sinful … may we look to Christ who, in turn, will clothe us with His holiness. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:24: “Put on the clean fresh clothes of the new life which was made by God’s design for righteousness and holiness.”
March/April 1996