I'm a Good Person

I was reading from Isaiah 64 this morning (almost through Isaiah!) and came across this verse

All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Isaiah 64:6

I am reminded this morning that I am a sinner and in fact, whether people like to believe it or not, everyone is a sinner. Even the "smallest" of sin makes us imperfect and unclean in the eyes of God. i used to compare myself to other people and think, surely I am a better person than they are. but that's not really the point is it? it's like comparing one imperfect article of clothing to another in a factory outlet store (i have no idea where that analogy just came from)... the fact is, we're all imperfect, flawed people. maybe the gap between myself and another human being seems to be quite wide ( i'm not a murderer, in fact, I'm far from it: i don't even download music illegally - ha!) but when i compare myself to God, the gap is infinite. Compared to God, even my righteous acts are like filthy rags. I read somewhere that this phrase could be used to describe menstrual rags. ew. A rather humbling perspective to realize that while I might feel good and prideful about my good and righteous acts, they are still like filthy rags.

it brings about an attitude of humility and reminds me not to compare myself to others -- what's the point after all? I ought to be more concerned with the state of my own heart which is what God cares about -- the state of another's heart is not my responsibility and He tells us that we shouldn't be quite so focused on the state of another person's heart meanwhile forgetting to address our own. And it also brings about an attitude of gratitude for the death that Jesus died on the cross so that by His blood that was shed for me, i may be cleansed of my sin and seen as perfect in the eyes of God.