Real us
"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”. (NIV) 1 Sam 16:7
Consider you had to choose between attending church and watching the finals of a soccer league match. Let’s say, you decided you would rather watch the match. Consider you watched 20 minutes into the match, mustered self-control and went indoors to prepare for church. Imagine you were again tempted to watch another 10 minutes and finally, you killed your desires and ran to the church.
Let us say that as you sat at church, your attention kept drifting away to wondering what was happening in the match. If after church, one of your pastors met you and compliments you for being present at church on that day, you are righteous before the pastor but you have failed with respect to God. This is because "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart": you never wanted to be in church that day. That matters to God more than your mere presence.
Well, that sounds scary, right? How then can we be righteous? The aim of God is not to change our minds but to change our hearts which represents the REAL US (Eze 36:26). Again, the aim of God is not to change what you do but what you want to do. Please surrender to God today and always.