Am I Not a Good Person?

People amaze me. They claim that they're good, yet they admit that they've broken the speed limit. They also don't think they've done wrong if they fudged figures on their tax returns, pocketed something at a store,  or took office supplies home from work. After all, the government or company has lots of money, right? Even getting back more change than they were entitled to from a cashier is brushed off as their just dues for how the stores supposedly rip off shoppers. This attitude is so pervasive that even David Bowie wrote a song about shoplifting called "God Knows I'm Good."

Isn't this a double standard? Would those individuals like it if visitors to their homes walked off with their possessions and wen confronted, they declared that they're really good at heart? Seems to me that the homeowner would have a thing or three to say to those sleazy friends.

People often excuse their petty crimes with the statement that they haven't murdered anybody, been faithful to their spouse,  or haven't robbed any banks. What about what Christ said in his famous Sermon on the Mount? If you hate somebody, it's the equivalent of murdering that person. If you, being married,  covet somebody's spouse, it's as if you committed adultery with that person. One of the Ten Commandments says not to covet a neighbour's property. Isn't envying somebody's house, car, or other possessions just as wicked?

Doubtless people will object that thinking about a crime isn't like actually doing it. Oh? Isn't it the heart of a person where wickedness begins? James wrote in his epistle that coveting leads to commission of the sin. Also, since people are thinking such nasty thoughts, what does that say about the content of their character?

I hope to write at length about this subject in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Far too many people assume that they'll go there when they die because they're a good person. Tragically, they'll find out too late that they were horribly wrong. How I wish I could stop at least some folks from making such a shockingly irreversible mistake.

As for my other paperbacks, see my latest one at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powell's Books. My first two memoirs are available from my book page. Additionally, visit my Facebook author page to learn what I'm working on and how the book project is going.