Most of us consider ourselves good people. We’ve never murdered anyone or pillaged any villages. Sure, there’s snide remarks at times, and we believe the worst in those who deserve it. The Scriptures, however, take aim at our self-congratulatory natures:

The Lord looks down on heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

A modern argument states that humans are basically good, merely corrupted by the world around them. With enough education and resources people develop into strong moral beings. Experience belies the point, however. Germany was one of the most highly educated societies in the world when the Nazis took power. Intelligent people make decisions every day based on selfish motives—myself included.

This psalm reminds me to view myself honestly, and decode my relationship with our holy God. In heaven pretty good doesn’t cut it. I’m left in a desperate state.

All are corrupt, all turn away, no one is even pretty good. But the Lord reached into our wretchedness and provided a lifeline. The hopelessness of this psalm points to the hopefulness of Jesus, who’s way, way more than pretty good.

Psalm 14 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi