Wednesday, August 18, 2010

"I'll Stand by Merits"

I'm not sure if you've been following this story about the coach of the New York Jets, Rex Ryan.

Ryan appeared on some kind of reality show, on which he apparently uttered some profanities.  In the days following, Tony Dungy, a former coach and professing Christian, voiced his disappointment in Ryan's words, saying "the league doesn't need that."

And now Ryan has responded to Dungy inviting him to training camp to see that Ryan's really not that bad of of a guy.  There was one comment from Ryan in this latest article that caught my eye.

"I'm a good person," Ryan said. "Just because somebody cusses or whatever doesn't make them a bad person. Just because a guy doesn't cuss doesn't make him a good person. So, I'll stand by my merits."

Now, Ryan can't be faulted for making such a comment (1 Corinthians 2:14). But it is good for us as Christians to recognize that this is likely typical of unregenerate man's view of goodness. Most people will proclaim their own goodness. But it is this claim that doesn't finally hold water when it comes to our last reckoning. For we know full well that we cannot possibly stand in front of Holy God "by my merits." God's standard is perfection. The only way we can stand is by another's merits, namely the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

We can only pray that Rex Ryan would come to this realization. Perhaps the spirit of God might be pleased to use Tony Dungy or anyone else to point out this fatal flaw in Ryan's response.

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