Don't Blame Adam

Who but God would put two trees side by side,
One for life; one for death; and no appeal?
Adam saw them daily, and had to decide---
If he obeyed, eternal life to seal;
If not, in hell he would the ages spend!
Though he did eat of the forbidden tree,
Before we who followed had a chance to fend,
There's no use claiming we'd not do as he!
God sent grace, gave us all a second chance;
By choosing Jesus, we can live fore'er;
If we reject Him in our lifetime's dance,
Then heaven's sweet clime* we will see never!
Curse Adam in vain for choosing amiss,
If you follow suit, you, too, reject bliss!

*climate

"What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all. We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written, 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless, there is no one who does good, not even one.'"
(Romans 3:9-12)

I thought I had lived a good life. I did not lie; I did not cheat on tests; I did not cheat on my income tax; I broke no speed limit; I did not use profanity; I did not watch TV; I kept my marriage vows; I said blessings before meals; I read the Bible daily and prayed; I attended church and tithed. I could not imagine a sin that I needed to confess and repent for. I knew I was guilty of Adam's original sin, but, otherwise, I thought Jesus and I were the only two men who never sinned. WRONG!

Something gnawed at my mind when I read the verses written by Paul above; that gnawing was the Holy Spirit. One day, a thought came to mind; could it be that being proud of my lifetime of clean living was a sin if I kept on listing my good points? RIGHT! My pride, my vanity, in clean living was making of me a Pharisee! Lord, forgive me, for counting my good deeds; all of them are as rags filthy with excrement, because I have become so proud of them, and i have overlooked the deeper sins of judging myself as better than others; of not reaching out with aid for those less fortunate; for all those hours wasted which I should have used in helping others. Teach me to remain humble and never to put myself on an equal with Jesus."