Pride is a killer because it blinds us to our neediness. Pride says, “I don’t need help!”

No doubt, everyone has amazing qualities—that is how God created every human being. But each of us is also deeply sinful. There are kind men who become angry drunks in an instant. Sweet friends who become greedy and damage relationships. People who love their families well but turn around and say horrible things to belittle other people. It is natural to want to prop up our good attributes, but it’s often hard to swallow the reality that we are needy and have a problem at our core.

God doesn’t compare us to other humans because the standard of perfection in His eyes is not other people. (Everyone is imperfect, so what kind of standard would that be?) His standard is His perfect Son—the only one without any sinful blemish—and we all fall short of His perfection. It is only when we let down our defenses in humility that we can hear God speak into both the bad news about ourselves—our sin and failure—and the good news He gives us in Christ Jesus: God sent His Son not to judge but to save (John 3:17).

Admitting our need for Him to forgive us is the ultimate expression to God that we understand that He is perfect and we are not. Jesus explains, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent” (Luke 5:31-32). The prideful who see no need for forgiveness from God will remain in their need. They will be judged for how well they lived their lives in comparison to God’s perfect Son, which will result in only failure. When someone says, “I don’t need Jesus’ gift of forgiveness,” they are saying, in essence, “My life is good enough to be judged on its own.” This is a prideful rejection of God’s incredible gift to us—His own Son!

The Good News is at its core a gift that has been given by Jesus, and it is meant to be received. Jesus died for us to give us His perfection so that we can be seen by God the Father as perfect forever. Receiving this gift starts with whether you can admit your need for it. How do you see yourself? Do you think you’re all good, or do you know that you’re needy for Christ’s gift of forgiveness?