Let’s say you’ve decided to live a good life and help others. So you donate money to worthwhile causes and try to be a decent, respectful neighbor, etc. – all of which is commendable. But you must ask yourself, why do you do what you do?
If you do good deeds in order to keep your conscious clear, have good karma, or get recognized, it’s easy to see that you have selfish motivations. Or maybe you simply sense what is the right thing to do and you want to benefit society - but have you ever considered where this sense comes from? Being created in God's image means that we're hardwired according to His moral law, so any nudge to do good things or help other people comes from Him and not from ourselves. But apart from God, we may do good things or help other people for the wrong reasons. The desire to be a good person may be motivated by wanting to elevate ourselves rather than to honor God.
Repenting of sin means turning away not just from bad behavior but also from prideful motivation and self-glorification; instead we must seek God’s will and His glory.