Trying to get better is fine — but that’s not what God is asking for.
Joe Rogan said recently that he’s been going to church. He said something along the lines of: “It’s actually very nice. They’re all just trying to be better people. It’s a good vibe.”
And that’s good.
There are a lot of people who could benefit from simply sitting in a place where everyone is at least trying to orient themselves toward something higher than their own impulses.
And I don’t know what’s in Joe’s heart, but I’m glad he’s going.
His orientation toward Christianity has changed over the years, and I hope he gets all the way there.
I also hope he isn’t being used to help people get comfortable with treating the Bible as just a moral framework, while stopping short of confessing that Jesus is Lord. Like many say about Jordan Peterson.
But regardless of all that, there’s something important to clarify:
Christianity is not a self-improvement project.
It’s not “be a better version of yourself.” It’s not a lifestyle upgrade or a moral hobby. It’s not even “learn to be a good person.”
Because here’s the truth:
You can’t make yourself good.
If it were possible to simply try harder and behave your way into righteousness, Jesus wouldn’t have needed to come at all. And the people who followed Him wouldn’t have needed Him either.
Self-help says: improve yourself.
The Gospel says: you can’t. That’s why you need Christ.
Now, it is true that following Jesus will often (not always, but often) lead to better outcomes in life.
More peace. More patience. Fewer disasters caused by your own stupidity. Better relationships. Less self-inflicted chaos.
But that isn’t because you’re “getting better.”
It’s because He is changing you.
There’s a difference.
If Christianity were about improving your earthly situation, then Jesus — who never sinned once — should have had an easy life. He didn’t.
They killed Him.
The people closest to Him — the ones who became more like Him as they followed — were imprisoned, beaten, mocked, and executed. Not rich. Not adored.
Not living their “best lives.”
They didn’t become successful.
They became sanctified.
They didn’t get upgrades. They got transformation.
So when someone goes to church and says, “It’s nice. Everyone’s just trying to be better people,” that’s okay. That’s an entry point. A doorway. A starting step.
But the deeper truth is:
The old you doesn’t need to improve.
The old you needs to die.
And the new life that comes after — the life in Christ — is something you cannot produce by effort, discipline, or good intentions.
It’s not self-help.
It’s surrender.
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