Filthy Rags

It’s a family joke that, if I want something, I try to butter my parents up. I don’t do that consciously, but I think that it can sometimes be human nature to try to work our way into someone’s good graces in order to get our way.

Sometimes, I think that this mentality sneaks into our relationship with God. We try, consciously or unconsciously, to do things to make God happy with us and with our performance so that he will give us what we want.

Some of the largest world religions have a scale: in Islam, if your good deeds outweigh your bad, then you will go to Paradise. In Hinduism, you will be reincarnated into a better life or allowed to enter Nirvana.

This is not what Christianity says, in Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul explains “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Not only that, but Isaiah 64:6a says that “all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”

It is not negotiable—we are not able to enter heaven on our own power. Even our best attempts fall short of the perfection that God demands.

The whole point of Christianity is that we are forced to a point where we must acknowledge the perfection of God. It is a perfection that we can never achieve, and thus we are dependent upon that God to save us from ourselves.

And this is where the idea of a “gift” comes into play. With the sacrifice of Jesus in our place, we are given an option. The choices are: try to enter on our own “filthy rags” or take the gift of grace that saves us.

The decision seems easy. It’s only when the human penchant to try to earn our way keeps sneaking back that it is difficult to accept the gift.

I ought to know that this won’t work with God, though. I’ve learned from experience: my parents never fall for it either.