Just as we read in Luke 18:11 where a Pharisee prays to God with lots of pride, saying he’s better than other sinners, radio personality and author Brant Hansen says people have a tendency to compare themselves to others and suggest they’re better than they really are. He says 90% of people in prison even say they’re better than the average person. Yet this self-righteousness is opposed to the teachings of Jesus.
“The No. 1 motivator of human behavior that I can find is guilt avoidance, and we’re not wanting to encounter the truth about ourselves,” Hansen says. “[But] once we do and we find out this is all of us and God’s paid the price for it—He still loves us—where can we go from here? It’s actually something we can handle, and it’s actually freeing because it takes a lot of that weight of defending myself constantly.”
For more encouragement on embracing your identity in Jesus and being honest about who you really are, watch the entire interview here.