As some of you know I used to be a police officer. There was one incident where I was found in the newspaper. The title to the article was "Officers judgment not good enough." I felt terrible, embarrassed, and somewhat angry at the judgment of one reporter. His opinion was just that; his opinion. Once in print there is no amount of response that will counter what has already been said. It's similar to a television show or actual court trial where the judge says, "The jury will disregard that comment." Right. Some things once out of the box are unable to be ignored. Like the newspaper article. Like the judge's statement. Maybe like someone saying to you, "I thought you said you were a Christian?" when you have done something anti-Christian. I'd like to say this is confined to the world of adults but that wouldn't be true. Many children are raised in situations where they are constantly being told they are not good enough. They grow into teenagers who are told they aren't good enough. Then onto adulthood where again they find themselves in the not good enough category. These messages can be implied or direct. They both do the damage.
When something goes wrong in a Anytown, USA, the impulse of the people is to find someone who wasn't good enough. If the police had been good enough... If the pastor had been good enough... If the teacher had been good enough... If the parents had been good enough... Not good enough! What a condemnation! The Bible tells us that everyone is a fallen creature and sinner. That alone should tell others we who call ourselves Christian are not perfect. Yet, that's what the world wants to see...perfection. Good enough. On their terms. When I first became a pastor my teenage daughter was caught toilet papering a home in the small town where I was a pastor of a small congregation. Word quickly spread that the "pastors" daughter did something horrible! Gasp! Not good enough. We trust people will act accordingly to what and how we want them to act. This is not reality. When I expect something from others due to their place in life I need to understand that they are human. Fallible humans do good and bad. That's just the way it is.
We trust our police, firemen, doctors, teachers and many other professionals to do their job. When they fail society makes sure that an example is made of every little infraction that has ever took place in their lives is published, they are tried, and judged by the end of the day. That's all fine and dandy until it becomes you that they are looking at. YOUR failure, YOUR sin, YOUR mistake, YOUR wrong, and YOU not being good enough in their eyes. Here's the kicker, no one is good enough. That's it. Not one has been perfect. All have fallen short of the glory of God. That includes both you and I. What are we going to do about it? We are going to get selfish. What?! Yes, we are going to get selfish. We are going to ask forgiveness for something we don't deserve. We are going to ask for grace from God to forgive us the "not good enough" part of our nature. We are going to ask for something we do not deserve...a free gift from God.
The story doesn't end there. Not only does God forgive us but he also forgets our not good enough. The Bible says that God throws our sin into the ocean and forgets them. If you want, he also says he will throw your sins away from him as far as east is to west. Think about it. If you begin travelling east on the equator you never get to west. Not true about north to south. The event of not good enough becomes a learning event and a redeeming event. Not just for us but for those around us who are affected by our choices. Those same affected people then can exercise grace for themselves. I'm still not good enough for some. That's their opinion. I'm good enough for God. That's THE opinion. God is there to restore me and not to destroy me. He's the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Go get yourself a helping of grace. Give some to those around you. Remember to not judge lest you be judged. Try to be good enough but remember that you are a fallen creature redeemed by the living God. That's good enough.
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