Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?
—Proverbs 20:9
Many may not admit it, but people do believe that, despite evidence to the contrary, they are free of sin and are pure in the eyes of God. We usually hear them say, “I am really a good person,” which is a way of raising the bar high enough for them to walk right under it.
We all do it, but we should pause to be honest. By saying we are blameless, we are engaging in self-deception. To truly “know thyself,” we need to acknowledge that we do not have a pure heart, that we are not clean, and that we sin against God and neighbor every day. Jesus tells the rich ruler, “No one is good—except God alone” (Luke 18:19).
If we are blind to the nature of what is afflicting us, how can we know that we even need a cure? Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan to a self-righteous expert in the law. It is important to understand that the man stripped, beaten, and left for dead is each one of us.
I am that man, and so are you. We need someone to come and lift us out of the dust and to love us and heal us. Sin is what got us there. It is Jesus who crosses the road to bring us the help we so desperately need. While the world passes by with intentional indifference, God stops to care for us because that is God’s nature. When we recognize who we actually are and who is willing to help us, we are on the road to recovery.
—Eric Kampmann, Signposts