This Must Be How God Sees Us

Even though we know we are screwed up and sinful, deep down we really feel that we are virtuous. To paraphrase Uncle Screwtape, we feel that we've built up quite a reserve for ourselves because we have allowed ourselves to be converted.

An American Idol audition is really a metaphor for this. Take the guy who is so awful that even Paula Abdul can't help spitting her drink out in laughter. He really is horrendous and couldn't carry a tune in a wheel barrow, but he really, really thinks that he is not just good, but good enough to be the winner. This must be the way that we appear to God when we think about all the "good" we do. Fortunately, though, He is gentler in his reproaches than Simon Cowell.