Do you struggle to do good, even when you want to do what is right? God says that this struggle is normal… It takes more than willpower to change your nature. You don’t just snap your fingers and become a good person.
The apostle Paul found this to be true in his own life. Perhaps you can identify with him. I can. Paul wrote, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do -- this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18-19 NIV)
When we realize we are not perfect we tend to comfort ourselves with comparisons: “Well, I may not be what I ought to be, but I am better than so and so.” You have probably heard someone say that, or you may have even said it yourself. The only problem with this approach is that God does not grade on a curve. He does not judge us according to how we compare with other people. Jesus Christ is His standard of measurement, and He is perfect. That means that when we measure ourselves by Christ, we do not measure up. We all fall short (Romans 3:23)...
We must evaluate ourselves by God’s perfect standard of goodness, Jesus Christ. When we do that, we realize the truth that no one is perfectly good.
-- Excerpts from “God’s Power to Change Your Life” by Rick Warren
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