Sufjan Stevens

For those who don't know, I am a huge fan of Sufjan Stevens. He writes witty lyrics combined with great musical ability. One song which is especially powerful to me is his song about John Wayne Gacy Jr. on the "Illinois" album. This song chronicles the killing of many young boys by serial killer John Wayne Gacy. The first time I heard this song, I could not even make it through because of the images present. However when I finally made it though, I discovered a great line near the end of the song.

After singing about the atrocities of molesting and killing boys and young men, Sufjan sings, "And in my best behavior, I am really just like him. Look beneath the floorboards for the secrets I have hidden." At this point of the song, I was furious at how someone like Gacy could take human life so easily, but struck to the chord that Sufjan was right. I am really no better than Gacy. Often we measure ourselves against others to determine how good of a life we are living. Depending how who we measure ourselves to this can make us feel really good, or really crappy.
What we need to keep in mind is that we are all fallen sinners. We might be a little better than our neighbor, but compared to the standard set by Christ we are not even close. This point is put well in the nature of distance. If two people are standing on opposite ends of their house in Illinois, it would be foolish to talk about who is closer to Thailand. Technically, someone would be closer, but the proportions are to absurd to matter. Saying we are morally better than someone can be thought of as equally absurd.

In Matthew 5:20, Jesus tells the crowds, "...unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." The Pharisees were the most perfect keepers of the Jewish law around, yet Jesus said you had to be more righteous to gain his favor. Basically, you cannot gain God's favor through your works. We are all so far from the mark of true righteousness and holiness that comparisons lose all value.

This does not give us license to disregard the moral standards which Christ layed out. Obeying these standards is in our best interests, it makes life work best. We should strive to obey our Father out of love and self-interest, but never should we think our actions make us any more favored in the kingdom.