What Do You Mean, “I’m Not Good Enough?”
Has This Ever Happened to You?
- Ever been cut from a team? Ever been dumped by a boy/girl friend?
- Ever get fired from a job? Ever fail to get a part in the school play?
- Ever not get invited to “The Party?” Ever been laughed at for what you’re wearing?
Have you ever been told by someone:
- You’re too young/old? You’re too short/tall?
- You’re too skinny/fat? You’re too slow, lazy, stupid?
Getting cut from the team isn’t fun. Getting dumped by your girlfriend/boyfriend hurts. Getting body shamed, ignored or made fun of by your peers is devastating. It’s embarrassing. It’s humiliating. Who likes being rejected? Your pride, your self-worth, your reputation absorbs a serious blow. And here’s why it hurts so bad…someone else has decided, “You’re not good enough.”
Some people handle rejection better than others. Tim got cut from the team. It hurt, especially because most of his friends made the team, and he didn’t. They went off to practice and he went home. Fortunately, after a week or two, Tim got over being cut and was on to other things. Others don’t handle rejection very well. Already insecure, Samantha was laughed at for the outfit she was wearing. She went home, laid on her bed and cried. She didn’t want to go to school anymore. She became more withdrawn. Within weeks she was seeing a counselor about depression. All this happened because someone told her, “You’re not good enough.”
Setting Standards
To be fair, being told you’re not good enough is not always a bad thing. Standards must be set. Would you want the person building your home to be unable to read a blueprint? Would you want the pilot flying the plane you’re on, to be on his 4thmartini? Would you like your accountant to be someone who can’t add or subtract? We should have standards of quality. Standard setting is good.
However, standard setting can also bring out the worst in people. It brings out an inner competitive drive where we compare ourselves to others. What was your ACT score? What was your grade point average last semester? What did you shoot on the golf course last week? What do you do for a living? What kind of car do you drive? How much money do you make? The point is, “Since I did better than you; I got better grades than you; I make more money than you; it proves that I’m better than you.”
The setting of standards can also bring out an inner sense of hopelessness. “I’m not as smart as you. You have a better job than I do. You make friends easily and I don’t, therefore I’m not as good as you. I can’t compare to you. I’m not worth anything. I may as well just die.”
God has Standards Too
However, before we go any further, we need to acknowledge that God has standards too. He demands that human beings be holy. He says, “Be holy, because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). He demands perfection. Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Never lie. Never steal. Never hate. Never lust. Never gossip. Never. Ever. This creates a problem. We’re not perfect.
To make matters worse, every time you come into church you are reminded of the fact that you are not perfect. You’re not meeting the standard God has set. You are a sinful human being. Oh no! I thought this place was a sanctuary? I’m not sure I want to belong to a place that tells me, “You’re not good enough!”
If you have ever felt judged. If you’ve ever been ditched or dumped, fired or cut from the team. If you’ve ever felt as if you just don’t measure up to the standards of others. If you’ve ever been made to feel as if, “You’re just not good enough,” I’m glad you’re here today. When you’re told you’re not good enough; find your worth in the love of Christ.
As we continue with our sermon series: Good Questions – Honest Answers, the question we wrestle with today is:
What Do You Mean, “I’m Not Good Enough?”
Luke 18:9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Our text is a parable. A parable is a simple story used to teach a spiritual truth. As we know, Jesus used this method of teaching on several occasions.
The Pharisee (Good)
A Pharisee was a highly respected religious leader. This was a man who accepted the Old Testament Scriptures as the authoritative word of God, and studied it on a weekly basis. This was a man who carefully followed all of the Old Testament ceremonial laws. He always observed the Sabbath. He fasted twice a week when only once a year was required! He was a man of prayer. The Pharisee was a man above reproach.
The Tax Collector (Horrible)
A Tax Collector was another matter. This was a man who made an arrangement with the Roman government to demand taxes from the Jewish people. Ok, that was bad enough. But what really bothered people about the tax collectors was that they were allowed to add to the tax and take a cut for themselves. If anyone objected to whatever he charged, the tax collector had the authority of the Roman army behind him. Resist and face the consequences. And finally, since most tax collectors were Jews themselves, they were profiting from their own people. So, for these reasons, most people viewed tax collectors as cheats, swindlers, and traitors to the Jewish cause. Tax collectors were despised by all.
God Looks at the Heart
The Pharisee didn’t see himself as a sinner. He didn’t see himself as someone who had no right stand in God’s presence. He didn’t see himself as someone who deserved to spend his eternity in hell – just the opposite. He thought he already had one foot inside the door of heaven. The Tax Collector, on the other hand, saw himself as a sinner. He knew he was a cheat. He knew he deserved to face the wrath of God. The Pharisee thought God needed him. The Tax Collector knew he needed God. In his prayer, he threw himself upon God’s mercy.
The irony is: the Tax Collector went home forgiven and justified before God. The Pharisee did not.
Find Your Worth in the Love of Christ
Are you good enough for God? How tempting it is for us to pray, “C’mon God, I’m being faithful! I go to church nearly every week. I send my children to Sunday school, or the Lutheran elementary school. I bring an offering. I serve on a committee. C’mon God! You know I’m not like all the other members of this congregation, especially those who didn’t make it a priority to be here today. That has to count for something, doesn’t it? I am so much better than they are!”
Or, did you walk through those doors, take your seat, look up to the cross and pray, “Father in heaven, you know my sins: greed, lust, and arrogance. You know how many times I’ve taken my spouse and children for granted. You know how many times I’ve taken you for granted. God have mercy on me a sinner.”
Do you see yourself as the Pharisee? Do you see yourself as someone God needs? Or, do you see yourself as the Tax Collector? Do you see yourself as someone who needs God?
The truth is...if left to ourselves, we’re not good enough for God. We fail to meet the standard he set. God the Father knew we couldn’t meet it, so he sent his Son who would. Jesus lived the perfect life we never could. It is because of Jesus that God’s demand for perfection has been satisfied. Because of Jesus, we are now considered to be righteous in God’s sight. The Apostle Paul explained it this way, “God made him who had no sin (Jesus) to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
You no longer ever have to worry about being good enough for God. Simply find your worth in the love of Christ.