There are many good people in this world. These people expend a great deal of effort and introspection in attempts to have a positive impact on the world. Religious people tend to claim that one cannot be good without being religious. For those who are, this claim is both untrue and incredibly off-putting.
If the only benefit of the gospel was to turn bad people into good people, it would not be of value to those who are already good. This chapter presents a different perspective on religion, one that suggests the gospel is also a tool for good people to become better through providing a means to become aware of additional opportunities to improve and to procure a means for making those improvements.
The purpose of this chapter is not to convince you that God exists. Rather, under the supposition that he does, it explains what role he plays in how a bad person becomes good, and how a good person becomes better.
It is difficult for someone who is invested in improvement to believe that belief in God will substantially increase their capability. Consider the following story.
When I entered high school I didn't need glasses. With each passing year, I found the chalkboards getting dustier. I had to keep moving closer, and it was annoying. At some point, after approximately 3 years, I complained. Someone suggested I needed glasses. One reason this had never crossed my mind was that I had eye checks as part of an annual physical that had not revealed degrading eyesight. The main reason I did not know I needed glasses was that I didn't comprehend what it would be like to not need glasses. I didn't know what perfect eyesight was like, so I couldn't realize what I was missing by wearing glasses.
Years later, I faced an alert order for deployment in the military. Knowing how hard it is to shoot accurately with glasses on, and knowing how pointless it is to try to shoot with a gas mask on when you require glasses, I thought it would be worthwhile to get laser eye surgery in spite of the cost and what I considered to be the cosmetic nature of the procedure. The procedure was very fast. The cover of my eyeball was opened, my vision got even blurrier than normal, some lights flashed, the doctor put an eye drop in my eye and put the flap back. Instantly, I saw perfectly— significantly more clearly than I ever had even with glasses. I actually cried because I was so astonished with how much better I could see. It was like being born again. I saw the world anew. Every morning I realized what it was like to be able to see right when I woke up. I had no idea how much clearer my perspective would be. I had no idea what I had been missing out on. If I had, I would have had the operation much sooner, and I would have been willing to pay a lot more than I did.
It is easy to preach Jesus to those who are broken and know it. It is very hard to preach Jesus to those who are already obeying that inner voice that tells them to do right. From their perspective, they can see the board fine. From their perspective, they already have their vision corrected.