“The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor: but the way of the wicked seduceth them.” Proverbs 12:26

One of the distinguishing marks between a believer and an unbeliever is their relative self-analysis. The wicked thief, though he was soon to die, still felt confident enough in himself to mock Christ. Paul, who suffered all things on behalf of Christ, considered himself to be the chief of sinners. In light of these wildly divergent opinions of oneself, it is helpful to see life from God’s perspective. The righteous is excellent, God concludes, while the wicked is self-deceived, seduced by looking only at the temporal while ignoring the eternal. It is hard for me to use the term “excellent” when looking at any of my endeavors. I see failure, what should have been, how far short I have come, and have to conclude that outside of the grace of God, I like Paul, am the chief of sinners. But it is this spirit, the spirit that does not seduce self with false illusions of one’s own greatness but instead looks by faith to a righteousness that far exceeds my own, that God deems excellent.