God Being With Me Is Not About My Goodness

Among the greatest deceptions of righteous people is the conviction that "we are good." The righteous develop a set of personal values because of their association with God. People left to themselves, their own motives, and their own goals never develop values compatible with God's values.

By our own current nature, left to ourselves, we become an increasingly selfish, self-centered, greedy people motivated by our own physical desires who exist to gratify our own preceived physical needs. We never say we have achieved enough. There simply is not 'too much' when it comes to power, money, possessions, and lifestyle. Even when we have more than we can use, we still want to acquire yet more.

The more we pursue security, the more threatened we feel. The more we pursue invulnerabilty, the more insecure we feel. The harder we strive to 'get to the top,' the more enslaved we become to 'our position.' We so easily feel invaluable and irreplacible. If we do fall, we prefer to live in the land of 'who I was' rather than in the land of 'where I am.' Too often 'my good opinion of myself' depends on your view of me and your evaluation of 'what I do.'

In Deuteronomy 9:1-6 Moses said to second generation Israel, "Listen to me! Soon you will enter Canaan inhabited by people stronger than you, who are fearsome in physique, and who live in cities so well forified that those cities seem beyond destruction."

"Never forget two things."

"First, as you approach this physically impossible situation, do not trust in yourselves. Instead, think about Me. Remember what I did to give you your freedom. You are free because of what I did, not because of what you did. I was the unstoppable power that acquired your release. Just as I released you from Egypt, I will relentlessly destroy the enemies you confront."

"Second, do not say this is happening because you are so good. Understand this is happening because the people who oppose you are so wicked. They will suffer the consequences of their evil. I will work through you, but not because of you. Never forget that I will establish you in Canaan (1) because the people who inhabit Canaan are an extremely wicked people and (2) I am keeping my promise to your ancestors."

"I will give you this land to be yours just as I promised your ancestors long ago. However, I know who you are, and you should never forget what you are. You are not extremely righteous because you completely surrender to Me. Your are extremely stubborn, thinking more about yourself rather than Me. You are the focus of your attention, not Me."

When we wish to verify our goodness, we commonly compare ourselves to other people we [or others] find objectionable. If someone else does not measure up to our standards, we must be 'good' because they are so 'bad.' Yet, in decaring ourselves good, we never compare ourselves to the kindness seen in God's forgiveness, mercy, grace, atonement, or redemption. When we compare our acts to God's values, we are horribly deficient.

To me, there is no doubt that God is at work in our world. Perhaps His works do not verify our goodness, but the extreme wickedness of others. Perhaps God works through us, not because we are so worthwhile, but because others are so wicked in resisting His purposes. Never forget His purposes are not seen in our self-centered ideals.