Who, in your opinion, is likely the worst person, the most wicked, the most evil person who has ever lived?
This isn’t merely academic. We instinctively rank others in moral goodness, invariably finding someone worse than ourselves.
However, arguably the greatest Christian ever, writing more books of the Bible than any other, answered this question: “Me.”
The apostle Paul thought of himself as less than the least of God’s elect (Ep 3:8), the chief of sinners, the worst who ever lived. (1Ti 1:15)
How can this be? And is this a coincidence? Is this true humility? Or insanity?
Well, how do you know you aren’t the worst person who’s ever lived? What evidence do you have that the moral choices you’ve been making, based on the raw material you have to work with in your upbringing and experiences, won’t put you last on Judgement Day?
The answer is simple. You don’t. For all you know, you actually might be the worst person who has ever lived. (Ga 6:3)
This changes everything.
Nothing in my hands I bring. Simply to His cross I cling. He died for me.
I would not argue a word against this, but merely stand in awe and reverence of Abba’s Mercy and Grace.
I think it’s tempting to fixate on our insufficiency, our inadequacy, our sin, to dwell there, but this in itself is sin. We are not to focus on ourselves, but on Him. (Php 4:8)
It is important to recognize our failures, and to grieve over them, but YHWH limits our intense, general focus on this to a single Day in the year, and this is for good reason. We couldn’t function properly if we did. I think we tend to become what we behold, what we focus on and contemplate over time, so we should spend most all of our time beholding and enjoying Him. (2Co 3:18)