SHRINKING
IN GOD’S LIGHT

Topics: Acceptance; Arrogance; Body of Christ; Cooperation; Envy; Neighbors; Pride; Relationships; Self-righteousness; Unity

References: Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 8:9–13; James 2:1–4

When we see ourselves as “pretty good,” we misunderstand the gravity of sin and our desperate need for grace. We place ourselves above others, become their judges, and give them the power to disappoint us.

A physicist friend uses this analogy: Each of us is like a lightbulb. One shines with fifty watts of holiness, another has only twenty-five watts. Maybe the most stellar Christians are two hundred watts. But these comparisons become trite in the presence of the sun.

In the face of God, our different levels of piety are puny and meaningless. It makes no sense to compare ourselves with one another, because we are all much more alike than we are different.

—Mark McMinn, Why Sin Matters (Tyndale, 2004)