Getting to Heaven
I’ve heard so many people tell me they think that “good people” will all go to heaven. I wish that were the case but how can anyone think themselves as “good”? For a start, my own assessment of whether or not I am “good” will definitely depend on a comparison with other people. Okay, so I’m no Mother Theresa, but I’m better than ……
So where does the cut off for good or not good lie? And what about if you’re not good? Does that mean that you can never make it to heaven? Even if you change your mind about being good?
I would love to think that I’m good. I spend so much time trying to impress people (and God) with what a great person I am but of course I hide the darker sides of my nature. I can’t count the number of times I have said nasty things about someone else behind their back. That’s not good, that’s despicable. And the fact that many, many people do it does not make it any less despicable.
I’m not even aware of how much I do which is actually calculated for maximum personal gain. I’m aware of enough to make me cringe in the light of honest self-analysis. Yes, I do want to help others but …..
And now here’s a good one. What about the genuinely held belief (which of course subconsciously influences much of what I do) that I am better than most people I come across, God included at times. I don’t like to admit to this one but in actual fact it’s true. Of course intellectually I know that I’m no better than anyone else; it’s just that I find myself thinking otherwise in my private thoughts. Humility, I’m afraid, is not one of my strong points.
Now, if being “better than most” people is the standard I may or may not have a show. I don’t know. There are some pretty decent people out there. If being better than the worst is the standard, then I think I do have a show. But that’s not what being “good” is.
This is not a “down on me” session. It’s not a confession box. I don’t feel the need to beat myself for penance or to suffer in order to try to elevate my “goodness quotient”. I do, however, feel the need to try to stop kidding myself about what I need to do to be accepted by God.
The answer is absolutely NOTHING.
How can we think that being good would impress God? God, who sees every cranny of every part of us and knows every thought before we have thought it? God, who made us, is hardly going to be overawed when we use what He actually gave us in the first place, to try to impress Him. God, who made us, knows that we all have capacity for good and for evil and that all of us at some stage exercise that capacity for evil whether we like it or not.
No, I don’t think the standard for getting to heaven is being good, I think it is all about accepting the fact that there is nothing in ourselves that can impress God and by asking Him for His love and acceptance. He has already given it to us in the person of Jesus. Especially if you don’t think you deserve it.
I’ve heard so many people tell me they think that “good people” will all go to heaven. I wish that were the case but how can anyone think themselves as “good”? For a start, my own assessment of whether or not I am “good” will definitely depend on a comparison with other people. Okay, so I’m no Mother Theresa, but I’m better than ……
So where does the cut off for good or not good lie? And what about if you’re not good? Does that mean that you can never make it to heaven? Even if you change your mind about being good?
I would love to think that I’m good. I spend so much time trying to impress people (and God) with what a great person I am but of course I hide the darker sides of my nature. I can’t count the number of times I have said nasty things about someone else behind their back. That’s not good, that’s despicable. And the fact that many, many people do it does not make it any less despicable.
I’m not even aware of how much I do which is actually calculated for maximum personal gain. I’m aware of enough to make me cringe in the light of honest self-analysis. Yes, I do want to help others but …..
And now here’s a good one. What about the genuinely held belief (which of course subconsciously influences much of what I do) that I am better than most people I come across, God included at times. I don’t like to admit to this one but in actual fact it’s true. Of course intellectually I know that I’m no better than anyone else; it’s just that I find myself thinking otherwise in my private thoughts. Humility, I’m afraid, is not one of my strong points.
Now, if being “better than most” people is the standard I may or may not have a show. I don’t know. There are some pretty decent people out there. If being better than the worst is the standard, then I think I do have a show. But that’s not what being “good” is.
This is not a “down on me” session. It’s not a confession box. I don’t feel the need to beat myself for penance or to suffer in order to try to elevate my “goodness quotient”. I do, however, feel the need to try to stop kidding myself about what I need to do to be accepted by God.
The answer is absolutely NOTHING.
How can we think that being good would impress God? God, who sees every cranny of every part of us and knows every thought before we have thought it? God, who made us, is hardly going to be overawed when we use what He actually gave us in the first place, to try to impress Him. God, who made us, knows that we all have capacity for good and for evil and that all of us at some stage exercise that capacity for evil whether we like it or not.
No, I don’t think the standard for getting to heaven is being good, I think it is all about accepting the fact that there is nothing in ourselves that can impress God and by asking Him for His love and acceptance. He has already given it to us in the person of Jesus. Especially if you don’t think you deserve it.
1 comment:
I agree heartily that there is nothing in ourselves that will impress God, however I am not so sure that God does not appreciate goodness and good deeds. We are after all to be the salt of the earth, and it is only good deeds and goodnes which will make this world better. But doing good to 'reach heaven' is probably a hangover of the days when Martin Luther raged against the prevailing church regarding 'works' as against 'faith'.
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