Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags

We all know the story of the Prodigal Son very well. While we know that the Prodigal Son is accepted by the Father, we do not if the Elder Brother accepted his Father's pleading to accept the Prodigal Son. The parable just ends with the pleading. Yesterday at a sharing during our Wednesday night prayer meeting, a pastor proposed this startling ending: the Elder Brother beat his Father to death. The Elder Brother cannot accept the fact that his good works is not acceptable. The same is Cain who killed Abel; and the Pharisees who put Jesus on the Cross. The righteousness of men cannot be compared to the righteousness of God. But many good people cannot accept that their righteousness’s are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) in the sight of God. They have spent so much effort and time. They put in so many sacrifices to be good and have done so much charity. They have much assurance that they have must done well on the basis of their good works. It is a pity that many did not check the KPI (Key Performance Indicators) God had set for them because they ignored Him. Many assumed that God wanted them to be good, but did not seek out God's definition of "good". They are very sure that their KPI is better than that of the Prodigal Son. When they found out that all they have done is nothing in the sight of God, it is all too late.