10

In 1979, movie-lovers flocked to the theaters to see 10, a romantic comedy featuring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek.  The number 10 is significant in that the stunningly beautiful Bo Derek was ranked a 10 on the legendary 1 to 10 scale of drop-dead gorgeous women by her infatuated love interest.  I wish I could tell you more, but I never saw the movie; I have, of course, seen photos of Bo Derek during her early days as a star, and if ever anyone deserved the superlative number 10, it was Bo Derek.

 

Of course, beauty is only skin-deep, and the real worth of an individual is that which is found on the inside.  So, if you were going to rank yourself, or rather, rank your character on a scale of 1 to 10, what number would you assign yourself?  To help you along, let us say 1 represents a fanatically evil tyrant like an Adolf Hitler or a Josef Stalin while 10 would place one in the Mother Teresa category.  Where do you fall?  I have no way of knowing, but my guess is that most of us would rank ourselves somewhere around 7 or 8 on the scale of human worth and decency.  What are you?  Are you a 7?  An 8, perhaps?

 

Again, this is speculation on my part, but a 7 or an 8 is someone who pays their rightful debts, occasionally donates to a charitable cause, may have served as a volunteer with an agency such as an animal shelter or community soup kitchen, avoids driving under the influence of alcohol, returns library books in a timely fashion, stays informed about politics and current events, may occasionally attend religious services, can pass a criminal background check, and routinely files an income tax form that is at least 80% honest.  Are you such a person?  Are you a 7 or an 8? 

 

Do you think the ranking you have assigned yourself is reasonably accurate?   Would your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers agree with your personal assessment?  Do you think people are capable of impartially judging themselves?

 

Here is another question to ponder:  How would Adolf Hitler have ranked himself?  When der Führer stood before a mirror, did he say to himself, “May God have mercy on me!  I am looking at the most evil man in modern history,” or might he have held a more elevated view of himself?  My guess is when Hitler gazed at his mirror image, he imagined himself to be a solid 10 plus—a man of courage—a man of destiny—and man handpicked by fate to save the world from social and moral decay.  

 

What did Adolf Hitler say of himself?  He claimed to be a man of peace:  “I have been guided always by the principle that German freedom has nothing to do with injury to others. ... It is one of the most elementary principles that nations should allow each other to live within their own territories as they wish to live.”  He touted himself as one who stood alongside the poor rather than identifying with the rich and noble: “I have neither ancestral estate nor manor... I believe I am the only statesman in the world who does not have a bank account. I hold no stock, I have no shares in any companies. I do not draw any dividends.”  He likewise saw himself as a benevolent leader whose greatest aim was to make life better for his fellow countrymen: “The new Reich shall belong to no class, no profession, but to the German people. It shall help the people find an easier road in this world. It shall help them in making their lot a happier one.”  Do these sound like the words of a despot?  A tyrant?  A warmonger?  Although history says otherwise, Hitler considered himself a champion of peace and justice; in other words, Hitler hailed himself as a shining prince among lesser men.  Surely, the fiery dictator with the funny looking moustache would have ranked himself an 11 or a 12 or even higher.

 

Maybe we are incapable of judging ourselves with any measure of accuracy.  Perhaps we are blinded by bias.  Or ignorance.  Or pride.  And maybe, just maybe, all of us self-professed 7’s and 8’s are really just a bunch of 2’s and 3’s. 

 

Christianity has lost much of its appeal because people no longer see themselves as “lost sinners” in need of a Savior.  Most individuals are convinced that, deep down, they are good people—not perfect, but good—good enough to please God.  Such people may admit that a bit of moral tweaking could be in order, but overall, their virtues by and far outweigh their faults and shortcomings.  Do you think that of yourself?  Could you stand before God garbed only in your self-righteousness?

 

The Bible makes it abundantly clear that we cannot earn God’s favor by our good deeds, charitable acts, and moral uprightness (Ephesians 2:8, 9; Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:10).  Being good is never good enough to please God.  The Apostle Paul, perhaps the hardest working of the Lord’s apostolic leaders, referred to one’s self-righteousness as a heap of dung (Philippians 3:8).  The Bible makes it crystal clear that God will not allow people who smell like backed up sewers into heaven.

 

Those who fancy themselves as “good people” with no need for divine forgiveness are blithering fools sprinting along the highway leading to Hell.  Unless the Holy Spirit of God convicts one of his or her sin, there can be no salvation (John 16:8).

 

Until the end of his life, Adolf Hitler maintained a high and lofty view of himself.  He never considered himself a vile person in need of a Savior.  Furthermore, Hitler had no use for Christ Jesus and he loathed the Christian faith: “But Christianity is an invention of sick brains: one could imagine nothing more senseless, nor any more indecent way of turning the idea of the godhead into a mockery.”  Later, Hitler added, “Our epoch will certainly see the end of the disease of Christianity.”  Fueled by his hatred of Jesus, Hitler personally ordered the execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of Germany’s most brilliant Christian theologians of the last century.  Had anyone suggested that Hitler was a lost sinner in need of a Savior to his face, the madman would have had the culprit executed on the spot.

 

Say, if someone were to suggest that you, too, needed a Savior, how would you react?