Can You be wrong even when doing Good?

James 4: 16-17 As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don't do it, that, for you, is evil.

Recently I was convicted about an action I was taking which was not wrong in itself but it was showing disrespect for another person. Even though what I was doing was good and helpful to someone else it was most likely done in an act of rebellion.

In the verse above James covers the sin I was guilty of. I knew that what I was doing was wrong because it went against the wishes of a fellow follower of Jesus and was hurtful to them. What I was doing was good but because it was not done with the other person's heart in mind it was nothing other than sin.

I encourage you to do what Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 13: 5-9  Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don't drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won't show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we'd rather the test showed our failure than yours. We're rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn't possibly do otherwise.

We don't just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.

If you find yourself with a flaw then I encourage you to repent of it, which means to turn from it and do whatever you can to correct it. It will be difficult to admit the flaw and it will require laying down some pride but over time God will restore you and bless your efforts.