I'm a better Christian than you by comparison

Before you jump all over that title, keep in mind...I'm kidding.

I was reading through Genesis again to get to know the characters a little bit more and I couldn't help but think what everyone else probably thinks. Why did they do that? They knew there would be consequences. Why did the Fall even happen? God said don't eat from that tree. Eve did anyway, soon followed by Adam. Why did Cain kill Abel? He knew it was wrong, and he knew he would be punished. My favorite part about all of it is that God comes down, knowing what happened, and they still deny it. Adam and Eve hid from God. Cain said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? When you read from a standpoint like you and I, you wonder how it could happen. If God talked to you. In person. And said don't do this. I most likely wouldn't do it. Easier said than done.

But what I began to think about was this. If I were a character in the bible, who would I be? Would I be like Adam and Eve and sin right in God's face even though he made it clear I wasn't supposed to? Granted, they are the reason that sin is all over the place now and the reason it is so easy to sin. But I began to think about it, and I already do that more times than I can count in one day. Would that be my legacy? Remembered as someone who sinned against God knowing good and well the consequences, or the rewards if I didn't. They had paradise. Whatever they wanted with the exception of the Tree of Knowledge. We blame them for all of the sin and imperfections in life, but would we have been so different?

Think about it. I'll use a commandment. Thou shalt not covet. Can you make it through a day without seeing something of the world and saying, "I wish I had that." It doesn't sound like much of a sin, but every sin is equal. Murder and jealousy are both sins. Equal sins. So are we any better than Cain? Are we any better than Judas, who sold Jesus to the chief priests? We see these people as the worst of the worst. The ones bad enough to write down in history forever. We tell ourselves we would have done otherwise. We look down upon Peter for denying Christ three times, but would we have been different? If your life was at stake, would you have done the same thing?

I then realized that I was, in fact, no different from these people. I would not be a John the Baptist, or a Moses. I would fall in with the rest of the sinners in the bible. My life might not be considered bad enough to be told in a story, but who are we to determine who's worse than who? Who are we to say, I'm better than Cain because I haven't murdered anyone? Meanwhile we lust over every girl that walks by. Who are we to say I'm better than Judas, who handed over Jesus, yet we prioritize worldly things over God? Who are we to say we are better than anyone else because their sins are worse? We will all be judged in the end by the one and only true judge. Do not compare yourselves to others and think you are well off. Do not say well he smokes and drinks and has sex all the time, so I'm a better Christian. It is not a competition to see who can sin less than another. We are all sinners. We will all sin tomorrow. Period. While some will lust and some will murder, no sin is worse than another. The consequences here on earth are much larger yes, but God is who ultimately decides your fate. So why are we trying to make ourselves out to be better than others? Shouldn't we just simply be trying to serve God? The good news is, if you have a relationship with God, you are forgiven. And I thank God for his unconditional grace and love every day.