allison elaine writes

(And How That Truth Leads to True Freedom and Hope)

For nearly eighteen years, I had been walking with Jesus—aware of my need for Him, grateful for His grace, and continually learning what it means to depend on Him rather than myself.

Then one conversation shifted something deep in me.

I was talking with a very close friend about her husband’s infidelity and his ongoing struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. This was not a new conversation. I had seen her heart broken many times. I had prayed with her, supported her, and encouraged her as she continued to fight for her marriage and to follow what God was leading her to do, even when it came at great personal cost.

In the middle of our conversation, she said something so human and so understandable:

“But he really is a good person.”

What came out of my mouth next wasn’t planned. It didn’t feel like my own thought. It simply came out:

“There is no such thing as good people. We all absolutely need Jesus.”

I wasn’t trying to correct her.
I wasn’t trying to judge her husband.
And I certainly wasn’t trying to minimize her pain.

But in that moment, the Holy Spirit began to connect Scripture in a way I had never fully articulated before.

What Do We Mean When We Say “Good”?

Jesus Himself says:

“Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.”
— Mark 10:18

That statement alone dismantles the idea that human goodness is something we possess apart from God.

Isaiah echoes this truth with sobering clarity:

“All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”
— Isaiah 64:6

Even our best efforts, our most disciplined attempts at righteousness, fall short when measured against God’s holiness.

Why?

Because so often—even when we don’t realize it—our actions are motivated by self-gain: approval, fear, control, image, reputation, or self-preservation.

That doesn’t mean people can’t do kind things.
It means true goodness has a source, and that source is not us.

The War Inside Us All

Paul articulates what every honest believer recognizes:

“For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”
— Romans 7:19

This isn’t the confession of an unbeliever.
This is the cry of someone who knows the law, loves God, and still recognizes his inability to overcome sin by sheer willpower.

Paul isn’t excusing sin.
He’s exposing the truth:

We cannot transform ourselves.

Good Actions vs. God-Led Change

This is where the distinction matters.

There is a difference between:

• behavior modification and heart transformation
• self-effort and Spirit-led obedience
• temporary change and lasting fruit

Scripture is clear:

“There is no one righteous, not even one.”
— Romans 3:10

And yet, in the same breath, Scripture gives us hope:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
— Galatians 2:20

The only true good we see in this world flows from the Holy Spirit working through surrendered lives.

A Freedom I Didn’t Know I Needed

That revelation didn’t just change how I viewed others—it changed how I viewed myself.

There was a new freedom in fully understanding that my effort is not what ultimately makes me “good.” It lifted a subtle burden I didn’t even realize I was carrying—the pressure to produce righteousness through discipline, resolve, or striving.

Instead, it became a daily reminder of how deeply I need to seek God:

• for growth
• for change
• for wisdom
• and for the moment-by-moment actions required to love and serve the world around me well

Goodness is not something I manufacture.
It is something I receive and surrender to.

“It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.”
— Philippians 2:13

Why This Truth Brought Comfort, Not Condemnation

As our conversation continued, my friend—who is herself a woman of God—recognized that this truth aligned completely with Scripture. She understood that my words were not an indictment of her husband’s worth, but an invitation to deeper prayer.

My goal was never to label him as “bad.”
My goal was to point toward the only source of genuine change.

Because if change is rooted in self-gain, it will eventually collapse.
But if change is rooted in surrender to Christ, it produces fruit that lasts.

“Apart from Me you can do nothing.”
— John 15:5

That verse is not meant to shame us.
It is meant to free us.

Why This Is Actually Good News

If goodness depended on us, we would all be disqualified.

But because goodness flows from Christ:

• there is hope for the addicted
• there is hope for the unfaithful
• there is hope for the weary spouse
• there is hope for all of us

True goodness is not something we achieve.
It is the fruit of a life surrendered to Jesus.

And every single one of us stands in the same place:

In desperate need of Him.