Up to No Good
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“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you” (Psalm16:1-2).
A little boy kicked the dirt clods with his sneaker and pouted. His mother asked him what was wrong. He said, “I try to be good, Mommy. I really do. But the bad keeps wanting to come out and play.” Paul tells us in Romans that we have all fallen short of the glory of God. In other words, we are all sinners. None of us can cast the first stone upon another. We are all up to no good.
Life Lesson: Biblical perspective on the end times
Experience It: Living in the power of the Holy Spirit
It’s not a very popular belief. Today, people want to believe there is a bit of good in everyone, a “godly spark”. They want to believe that we have the inner ability to become more enlightened, more “good”. But that puts the focus on us. It assumes we can change our human nature. We can overcome evil all by ourselves.
That is not what the Bible teaches. If we could change ourselves and become good enough to get into Heaven, then we would not need Easter. We wouldn’t need a Savior dying for our sins then rising to Heaven to intercede for us.
Next Wednesday begins the season of Lent. During Lent, the forty days before Easter, we are called to reflect upon our walk with Christ, and upon our own humanness. When we realize we are up to no good, we can bow down, ask forgiveness and be lifted up by Christ. Then we are no longer down in the dumps, beating ourselves up because we just can’t quite be “good like we should”.
Similar to that little boy, don’t we all still have negative thoughts no matter how much we try to be upbeat and positive? We still get envious, have a tendency to gossip, and feel temptations. But, with Easter around the bend, we can be hopeful. There is a way back into goodness through Christ. Knowing we are up to no good, God provides a way to reach down to us. With Jesus bridging the gap, He can take no good folk like me and you and transform us with His Holy Spirit.
All we have to do is realize that is what we need. Many people practice giving up something for Lent. Maybe the best thing to give up for Lent is the thought that we can, by our own ability, be good.
TAKE THE NEXT STEP: Understanding the forgiveness God offers
Question: What have you been trying to change for the good in yourself without God’s help? How successful have you been?
About the Author Julie B. Cosgrove
Hi Trisha,
Thanks for your comment today…an honest confession that rings true for all of us at some time or another in our Christian walk! Sin is a hard thing to fight against, but I thank God that we have an advocate who hears our confession and prayer. One who will forgive us for our imperfections. We only need to ask and keep focused on Him. We are all on a journey with this wonderful Jesus and will not be perfect on this side of heaven. Bless you all…
When a devo touches me within i really know it b/c i just HAVE TO COMMENT ON IT! My life was a complete mess before i came to be a believer in Jesus Christ. As i cleaned up my act i thought i could be the “perfect” Christian. For 5 yrs i Bible “thumped”, didn’t curse, smoke or spit on the sidewalks. i wanted to show God and everyone else how “good” i was! Well, the day finally came when i could no longer keep up the goody two shoes for Jesus and fell hard all over again! Now i felt like a hypocrit and was filled with shame going to the LORD in prayer. It took me years to get to know this loving, merciful God we serve (and am STILL learning) i confess i do NOT have the ability to be good by my own efforts and will always need the LORD to forgive me and be my courage and strength. i was also very, very judgemental. It was like,”hey, you’re not as “good” as i am…you need to get your act together.” How self righteous and prideful was this?? i have to forgive myself all the time b/c i suffer from perfectionism. i admit it now…i just can’t be the “perfect little Christian” anymore. Thanks Julie for digging deep within me to get me to share these feelings with others. Bless us all.
Thanks for the great devotional. This site was posted on facebook today and just I just wanted to share it. You will probably have to copy & paste it but it is well worth it. It is only 2 minutes long. Hugs, Linda !!!
Hi Julie, Thanks from me too…great devotional. What you said, “Today, people want to believe there is a bit of good in everyone, a “godly spark”. They want to believe that we have the inner ability to become more enlightened, more “good”.” is a really important statement. This way of thinking has been so pervasive in modern thinking that, as you say, no one needs a savior. I like your suggestion that we give up this type of thinking. What a challenge!!
Julie, love love love this devotional. thank you so much, I love your writing style. When you share you tell it just like I need to hear it, and like I would say it myslef (if I were given the gift you have:)… however, I learn something new from your writing style, and you touch my heart every single time. I can share “your words” which are God given w/ others and they seem real, b/c they can hear “ME” saying them. Did that make sense.lol. Anyhow, I love this, and thank you so much again. your Sister in Christ, Lori… ps, to answer your question, I can’t do anything successfull without the Lord’s divine guidance, and I need to be reminded of that occasionally too.