“Talk no more so very proudly; let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.” — 1 Samuel 2:3 (ESV)

I remember an early conversation with one of my sisters as I was considering the Christian life. I had made the comment that I didn’t think I was so bad. I’d lived a pretty decent life without too many terrible actions compared to a lot of other people i knew. And she gently told me the truth: we are not compared to other people; we are compared to Jesus — the sinless one who gave his life for us, so that we could have a life of relationship with the Holy God.

Those Old Testament people of God were always striving, always trying, always failing to be close to the Holy God of Israel. And it is by this Holy God that our actions are weighed, our thoughts are judged, our hearts are known according to their essential worth. That’s a scary thought because we can never be that holy perfection that God desires of us; we are sinful humans. Jesus died to provide that holiness for us. And yes, that means that there is no perfect human who could be president of the United States.

I don’t want someone who is perfect. I only want someone who is not proud or arrogant; someone who knows that his or her actions will be judged by the Holy God; someone humble enough to know that he or she does not have all the answers; someone who can admit they are wrong; a humble servant rather than an arrogant king.

This graphic comes from Square Quotes.