Are we good, bad, or somewhere in Between?

We’ve all heard well-intentioned Christians tell us that we’re good. We’ve also heard candid Christians tell us that we aren’t good because we are, in fact, sinners. So, which is it? Both can’t be correct, can they? Is it possible to be sinners and still be good? Well, the answer, while not as simple as I’m making it, is yes, meaning that we have access to His goodness.  If you know and are saved by Jesus, you can embody the goodness of Him. We are sinners who desperately need to surrender to God and repent of our sins. But the bible does state that we are “Fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). We are fearfully made. Fearful of God. This isn’t the cowering in the corner, trembling kind of fear. This is the fear produced from reverence, respect, and obedience. Some may view their fear of God as one of intimidation, but it shouldn’t be that way. God is all things and can do all things, but he does them for the love of us. He knows that we are sinners and covets our surrender because that very surrender is what will save our lives. We are also wonderfully made. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word wonderful is defined as extremely good. It doesn’t get much clearer than that. We are good, or at least, we have the goodness of God in us that we can choose to cultivate as our identity or choose to ignore.

So why, then, is the scripture rich in verses reminding us that we are sinners but lacking in verses that speak of our goodness? Because we are sinners who can choose to be good. This is an important distinction. We have verses that depict our sinful nature: 

1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  

Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.”

This is enough to bring about great doubt regarding our own goodness. We could read this and give up, accepting that our fate has been sealed and we are destined to fail, but to do that would mean we missed the whole point. I believe we are diligently reminded of our sin so that we can put ourselves aside, which is the only way to achieve the goodness that is God within us. Consider the verse mentioned above from 1 John. It doesn’t end there. The next sentence is where the hope in Him comes. “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1:9). Further on in 1 John, we are given the guide map to “goodness”. “Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments.” To recap, we are sinners who can choose goodness, and to obey the commandments is how we make that choice. Ok. Now this doesn’t feel so hopeless or daunting anymore. 

My biggest struggle with this topic is regarding my kids. How do I express and illustrate this concept? I don’t want to instill in my children a feeling of being “bad”. I also don’t want them to be sanctimonious. More than that, I certainly don’t want to give them the impression that they’ve got this. Because they don’t. None of us does. So, how do I (we) explain to our kids that, yes, we are all sinners and that’s not something to hate ourselves over, but rather a truth to admit. Because once we admit that, we can move past attempts at perfection and rely on the One who will actually produce the goodness of Him in us? I don’t have the answer. I think, though, honest conversations will help. Definitely encouraging our children to read the Bible and to look to it for answers. Constant reminders to pray, anytime about anything. And demonstrating that I don’t rely on myself as Amy, but rather myself as His child. That difference, although tricky for young people to grasp (and, honestly, tricky for humans to realize), is so very vital in our choice to embrace His goodness while remembering our shortcomings.

Recommended song: You Say by Lauren Daigle