👼 Beyond Being “A Good Person”

Sometimes I sit in silence and honestly think, “Lord… I don’t even know what I should repent of.”

And that itself has been an ongoing struggle for me.

It feels like I’m checking the right boxes - not flawless, but decent enough. And my conscience doesn’t disturb me much anymore. This quiet satisfaction, unfortunately, has dulled the deeper call.

Recently I came across a video by Fr. Mike Schmitz (1) where, almost in passing, he mentioned something that struck me deeply. He spoke about people who don’t know what they should repent of and said maybe it’s because they have no idea how incredible they are supposed to be.

That line stayed with me.

Because isn’t it true? We often congratulate ourselves for being “good.” We don’t commit major crimes. We’re faithful spouses. Responsible parents. Decent citizens.

But God’s standard?

It’s shockingly high.

Jesus says even a look of lust is adultery. Even anger in the heart is murder. 

Suddenly, it’s not just about outward behavior bit it’s about thoughts, intentions, subtle attitudes.

The resentment we rehearse in our minds.
The bitterness we justify.
The fantasy of “what I should have said.”
The quiet revenge scenarios we play out.

Imagine that! Even that counts.

And yet we rarely measure ourselves against God’s holiness. We measure ourselves against other people. And compared to the world, we look fine. Our scale has corroded and our standards have slowly shifted without us realizing it.

Porn is obviously sin. But a romantic K-drama? That’s harmless, right?

But what about the thoughts that follow?
The subtle comparisons?
The dissatisfaction with our spouse or our life because reality doesn’t look cinematic?

Comparison quietly steals gratitude. And we don’t even notice.

Or modesty. “I’m covered more than most people. I’m modest.”

But the question isn’t the world’s standard but it’s God’s call to honor the dignity of our body. Sometimes what looks acceptable socially is still subtly shaped by vanity, attention-seeking, or insecurity. And we rarely bring that to confession.

Or this one hits hard:
“I give my all to work. Work needs me. Missing Mass sometimes is understandable.” OR the ”I’m not abusing my family.”

But what are we modeling?

At Baptism, we promise to lead our children to Christ. We want them to receive the sacraments. But do they see prayer in us? Do they see reverence? Do they see sacrifice for God? Or do they see that everything else comes first?

When we truly look at God’s standard we realise that it’s very, very high.

And once we begin examining honestly, the list of “infractions” becomes long - very long!

But here is the beautiful part.

Jesus is not waiting with a clipboard to condemn. He understands. He forgives. He strengthens. He doesn’t reveal our sins to shame us but to heal us. The higher the standard, the greater the invitation to holiness.

Maybe the reason we sometimes don’t know what to repent of isn’t because we are sinless but because we’ve forgotten how extraordinary we are called to be.

So this Lent, instead of leaning on our own understanding, maybe we can pray:

“Lord, gently reveal the parts of my heart that need surrender and transform me.”

And He will. Slowly. Lovingly.

Wishing you an incredible life. Not just a “good” one but a holy, joyful, deeply transformed life with Jesus.

(1) https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hPTcMWpHfKk&si=TvflbcDRFgXfizn9

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18 Feb 2026