How righteous we think we are

Mark 10:17-22 (NLT)
17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’” 20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” 21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

In these verses we find a young rich man running up to Jesus calling him “Good Teacher” and asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied with a question and a statement before following up with the answer the man was expecting. Jesus first asked “why do you call me good” and then he replied “only God is truly good.” Jesus was good and Jesus was God. Jesus never denied those facts, but He was testing the man’s faith to see if he understood who Jesus really was. Then Jesus quoted the Mosaic commandments and the man said he had obeyed them all. A pious answer considering the statement Jesus just made saying Only God is truly good. Had the man understood how unjustly he saw himself he would have seen his need for the loving grace and salvation of Christ. Jesus gave the man another action; one to give up what he owned and follow Him. The man walked away sad for his desire for possessions was greater than his desire for salvation.

Proverbs 3:7 says, “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It is so easy for us to get wrapped up in the idea that we are without fault. It doesn’t matter how righteous we think we are or how good our actions have been. The truth is we are unable to see the extent of our sins even if they are right in front of us. The Bible tells us for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one exempt from sin. Therefore “ALL” of us are sinners and need the loving grace and salvation provided through Jesus. So before we look at the actions of another and say, “That person is living a sinful life.” We must first stop and consider our own life. When the woman was accused of adultery by the religious leaders Jesus calmly said to them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” With those words each man realized how sinful they were and could no longer pursue their desire to punish this woman for they knew they also deserved punishment. Praise God for His Son Jesus Christ who takes away the sins of the world.