Good

I've had some things running through my head lately, and this blog is the first of those thoughts I have decided to put into writing.

Have you ever somebody make the outrageous claim that they are a good person? Have they ever used reasoning like: "I'm a good person, I've never killed anyone." or "I'm a good person, I don't steal things."?
Perhaps that claim isn't so outrageous. After all, it is good if you haven't killed anyone (but does this mean that soldiers are bad people?), or don't steal things. However, there are a couple of problems with the claims. First off, by whose standards are we living a "good" life? Good according to society? According to the laws of the United States?
What is God's standard? I used to believe that human beings were inherently evil. I used to believe that society taught man to be good (Keep in mind that I do mean man/woman, he/she, and his/her throughout this blog). However, the more I read the Bible, and the more I learn about the world in general, is that mankind, by his very nature, is good. When God created man, in fact, when he finished his creating, he saw that all that he had made was good! So, if this is the case, that all mankind, although sinful, is good.
God does not call man to be just good, though. He calls them to be Holy. And if you're standard is holiness, then "good" does not seem to impressive on the totem pole. He calls us to be like Jesus - the perfect HUMAN! When Christ died, he achieved perfect humanity.
This idea springs into my head whenever I hear someone claim they are a good person. While I am far from holy (that's why the term is "practicing Christian"), I hope my life is a countinuous process of achieving holiness.