Good People

[dddoo7]

Most of us are pretty good people. We usually do what is right by others and usually treat others pretty good. We sometimes help others when we see something that needs to be done. We give a word of encouragement in passing to some that we feel need that word of encouragement. We are pretty good people.

Most of us are pretty good people. We believe in God. We worship Him from time to time. We even pray to Him once in a while. When someone brings it up we will talk about God and the Bible. We are pretty good people.

The people of Israel were pretty good people. They believed in God. They worshipped God. They were the nation of Israel, the people of God. Yet Israel had one fatal flaw throughout most of their history. They failed to fully submit to God. Romans 10:1-3 says, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.  For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” After all of their effort, they still failed to fully submit to God. They worshipped, they sacrificed, they did good things, yet through all of that they failed to fully submit to God.

The day of judgment will be a sad day for many. It will be a sad day because there are so man pretty good people who will be lost. Many people who believe in God, read their Bible, live a good life, help people, and talk about Jesus are sadly going to realize on that day that they are lost.

Jesus describes the situation in Matthew 7:21-23 where He says, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

I can worship God and be lost. I can do good things and be lost. I can live a pretty good life and be lost. I can do these things and be lost because of a lack of submission. God does not need me to do these things. God is looking for our total submission to Him. Israel missed the point because they didn’t submit to God. The people in Matthew 7 missed the point because they didn’t submit to God. If we fail to wholly submit ourselves to God, then we also miss the point. When we fully submit, we will obey, yet there is more to submission than these works.

We can either carry the full responsibility of our lives, our actions, and our sins on our shoulders, or we can give up our own will, our own perceived power and fully submit to God. God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly submitted to Him.

[rileyz138]

@dddoo7 This is a super awesome perspective and most definitely something that isn't mentioned in any sunday mass that I've ever been too. In my way of thinking, there are certain things you don't take on in this life unless you are all in. This religion is the highest level of that mentality. Our God knows our souls, our hearts, and therefore our potential as people. Although our God is one of love and patience, he also is a strict God that expects us to use fully the tools and wisdom he intentionally exposed us too. We weren't put on this Earth to be average and fall into what society deems acceptable, we were put here to be GREAT!! Greatness doesn't mean we are good sometimes or just when it's convenient to us, greatness means we take in every second we have on this Earth to be the absolute best we can possibly be. Being our best requires constant maintenance and is a forever moving finish line, and God gave us everything we could ever need in order to focus our eyes and chase that finish line with a hungry heart. I believe God sees it as an insult when we only choose to be "pretty good." What prophet or righteous man in scripture was just "pretty good?" They weren't just pretty good, they were great in times when it was difficult to be. They followed God's law even when it was so incredibly hard too. They did not just follow the law because it was there and made them look moral to their peers, they followed the law because they had the ultimate faith in God's will and their hearts had the strongest desire to be the best they could be in God's eyes. In my opinion, few things are as honorable as that. In a sense, that's the truest display of love, strength, and commitment.

We all fail to follow God's law at one time or another, there is no such thing as perfection as a human. However, greatness isn't about being perfect, it's about getting better. It's about owning our mistakes. It's about being strong. It's about being grateful. It's about growing. It's about being YOU! Greatness doesn't and never will require a flawless performance, but it does require a heart that beats for God and a soul that lives for his instruction.

At the end of the day, you only answer to yourself and God. Regardless of what other people expect from you or think is normal, never forget you weren't put here to be normal. You weren't put here to be glorified by your peers, and in the same way be put down by your peers. You were put here to be GREAT.

Proverbs 16:26 "The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.
Isaiah 7:9 "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."
Isaiah 29:13 "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."
Isaiah 26:8-9 "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you."
1 Corinthians 7:19 "Keeping God's commands is what counts."
1 Corinthians 4:4-5 "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me."
1 Corinthians 9:24 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."