We are not too Good. They are not too Bad.

There have been times in the past I’ve done wrong. I’ve felt called to serve in a certain way, help a certain type of people, or do a certain thing for God. While I haven’t always refused to do what He asks I often have a terrible instinct. If God calls me to do something that would get my filthy, or to help some people of a lower class a thought from Satan tries to creep into my head. I’m too good for that. I am not meant to get dirty by going in the mud to build a house. I am not meant to soil myself by being in the presence of the homeless. That’s for lesser people; people not as good as me.

I say this because I know this type of thinking is not unique. I know that, especially in a country like America, this way of thinking is common. We are taught from the moment we’re born just how good we are, and it’s true. We are good, or at least capable of much good. We can be filled with pride without realizing it, and this thought can keep us from serving God in the many remarkable ways He wants us to.

This way of thinking is wrong. It reflects the thinking of the older brother who wouldn’t forgive his brother in the prodigal son story. It is the thinking of the Pharisees who wondered why Jesus ate with prostitutes and tax collectors. It is commonly shown as wrong in the scriptures. This way of thinking judges ourselves as good, and as others as too bad for us to be around. It gets us to forget that we only possess any goodness because Jesus came and died for all us bad people. I believe God has given me an excellent phrase that helps combat this type of thinking:

We are not too good. They are not too bad.

That’s right. We’re not. We are not too good to go to countries with less wealth than America, or to be in the presence of sinners. Poor people are not too bad for us to help. Sinners are not too bad to need the redemption we can offer them through Jesus. We are not too good to present it to them. We are not too good. They are not too bad.

When God calls you to do something, to help someone, or to serve Him in some way, and arrogance tries to stop you remember this phrase. We are not too good. They are not too bad. I am not too good. No one is too bad. I am not above serving God in whatever way He calls me to. If Jesus can strip down and wash the feet of His disciples I can also humble myself. All of us can. We are not too good. They are not too bad.