The value of our own righteousness

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” - Isaiah 64v6

How good can we be? No matter how hard we try we may tend to think that there is something, no matter how small, good about us. We like to think that surely there is something we can do right, or something we have done right. Surely we cannot be all that bad.

God has a very clear, definitive view of just how bad our sin is. It is so bad that He puts in in terms not of our sin, but in our perceived righteousness. All of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in His sight. The KJV translators avoided the literal meaning for the sake of tastes and propriety in 17th century England, but the literal meaning is that all of our best efforts at being righteous in God’s sight are as vile as menstrual rags.
There is nothing good in us, lets make sure that we remember that. All we have is totally my His grace and mercy and is a result of His great love wherewith He loved us.