Can I Stop Pretending to be a Good Person? 

Can I stop pretending to be a good person? Because the truth is, the facade is exhausting. I don’t want to wait patiently on the Lord. I would rather sit at home and watch Netflix than open my doors to the least of these. And, often, Sunday mornings make me want to worship the Bed of Divine Comfort instead of pulling myself away to worship the true God.

But yet, I keep pretending like none of this is true.

If I’m having a bad day, I might mention it but I’ll quickly follow it up with a smile and, “But God is good.” Why do I do that? Of course God is good and it is good to remind ourselves of that truth but, in the moment, that’s not what I’m feeling.

I am not a good person.

I pretend like my busyness is an act of service, when, in reality, it is a selfish way of avoiding conversation where my flaws might be exposed.

I am not a good person.

I mention publicly the limited time I’ve spent in prayer without mentioned the state of apathy my heart is in or how little time I actually spend praying.

I am not a good person.

I perpetuate the idea that while, I am a sinner, I am a pretty good person. I haven’t killed anyone. I am not a thief. I’ve never committed adultery.

But I am not a good person.

I pretend like I’m a good person, like this is my natural state because, if I let my guard down, if I acted in a moment of vulnerability and showed you my true colors, you might reject me.

When I pretend like I am good, when I lead you to believe that I am holding it all together pretty well by myself, I present to you a false picture of who my God is and what He has done for me.

The great and merciful God did not come for the good people. He did not come for those who could handle the temptations and trials of this world. He came for the broken and the weak. He came for people like me.

We live in an age of “good” people.

None of us want to acknowledge our shortcomings or sinfulness. We’d rather pretend it’s solely in the past and focus positive thinking.

And I am as guilty of that as the next person. Instead of taking my sin seriously, I try to boast in my own ability to do that right thing… most of the time. But when I refuse to take my sin seriously, I am communicating to myself and the world that I do not take my God seriously.

If I believe that Jesus meant it when he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners,” then I believe that He not only allows someone like me to come to Him, but He embraces me (Mark 2:17, ESV).

Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.

We don’t have to have it all together. Jesus does not expect us to be good people. He came because He knew that none, not a single one, of us were good.

What unites us as Christians isn’t our do-goodness, but a realization of the brokenness of our sin and the healing that comes from the precious blood of the Lamb who was slain on our behalf.

So no, I am not a good person. And I’m done pretending I am. Because when I pretend to be something I’m not, I am hiding the work that God is doing to conform me to the image of His Son by pretending to have already achieved it. I’m discouraging fellow believers who are struggling and depriving us all of the chance to gently come alongside one another in encouragement.

Will you join me? Can we stand as the broken? Can we unite, not as a trophy case for the perfect people whose struggles are behind them but as a hospital which welcomes those who bear the scars of spiritual warfare?

Instead of presenting a polished person before others, let us truly come alongside one another in a pursuit of holiness. But friends, let’s start with a truth acknowledgment that we are not good people. We are a sinful people with a perfect Savior.

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