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"The reality is that our efforts to be righteous will always, always fall short. There are times when we will find ourselves in a position of failing. Our righteousness is never as good as God’s righteousness for our lives."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 60.
If you don’t believe that last line I quoted from my book, then check out today’s Bible reading with me now.
As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; Romans 3:10 (ESV)
Our righteousness will never be as good as God’s. If that weren’t enough, our reading today makes it clear that none of us are righteous! The quicker we get those thoughts into our heads, the faster we will be able to get victim thinking under control in our lives. It is when we believe that we can do things in order to prove something good about ourselves that victim thinking waits to pounce on all we do.
It isn’t that we are a bunch of slouches that can’t do anything right. Nothing could be further from the truth. What makes our efforts something that we just can rely on when it comes to identity is the fact that we aren’t perfect. It is when we fail to live up to some standard we have set for ourselves that victim thinking can start to take control.
Righteousness is really all about being perfect. Do you think you will ever be able to fall into that category? If you do think that way, good luck with that! Perfection just isn’t in the cards for us on this side of Heaven. That’s why relying on our actions to prove our identity is such a failed strategy. Without perfection, our actions can never be all they need to be to make who we are have lasting meaning.
Glen Cook, in his book, “Dreams of Steel” makes this important point about righteousness - “More evil gets done in the name of righteousness than any other way.”
This is a profound statement. More victims have been made by victors trying to “do” in order to “be” when it comes to proving righteousness in their lives. It is when the victor is driven to do things in order to establish and maintain an identity that those around them get victimized in ways God never intended.
By now, I hope you realize that I’m not saying that victors are to do nothing. What a waste of God-sized talent if we chose to just sit by and watch the world go by. No, do all you want. Just don’t let your doing be tied to who you are. Some of what you put your hand to will succeed in ways that make you feel like a victor. What you have to hold on to is the fact that even if your doing fails miserably, you still are a victor in God’s eyes.
I think God is desperate for us to see our lives the way He does. He doesn’t see us as useless and undesirable because of our imperfection. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross He doesn’t even take our imperfection into account. He sees us as perfect because Jesus was perfect. I hope that fact is as freeing to you as it is to me.
When we are driven by the pressure to perform at a perfect level, we will do and say things that will cause victims all around us. That’s the evil Glen Cook is talking about that happens in the name of righteousness. If you want to live this life as the victor God sees you to be, that has to stop. It stops when you begin living your life the way God sees your life.
As God’s Child you are perfect. As God’s Child you are a victor. As God’s Child you are righteous. With this in mind, go and let your victor status change the world around you today.
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