June 27, 2024
Thursday
Self-righteousness rears it's head in all manner of life. There are just as many self-righteous scientists as there are in the religious segment of our society. We find them in music as well as economics. The attitude that prevails is, "I am better because I act better than you." They claim to know more so that they can be better. Often, they don't even notice their disdain for those who don't know as much and stand up for the righteousness they stand up for.
Jesus addressed this:
Matthew 23:27 (NASB 2020) 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
The scribes and Pharisees didn't see their own arrogance. In their defense, very few arrogant people ever do. They were concerned how they looked rather than what was on the inside. This is truly the nature of the self-righteous. They have so covered their flaws that they don't believe they have any. They can't see beyond the air-brushed image they have of themselves. Their lack of humility keeps them from learning beyond what they already know. They gather in enclaves of like-minded people who will espouse passionately what they already believe.
It is interesting to note that actions that will reveal this arrogance are couched in words like, "Before we did this, we bathed it in prayer." In other words, when they are leaving whatever ministry they have been involved in, they must justify their leaving. The real reason may be a hatred for someone they will need to work with. It may be a sacrifice they are no longer willing to make. The latter two reasons are never addressed. They will say, "We needed to do what is right for us." They don't realize they are saying, "You are not right for us." Relative rightness often results in self-righteousness.
It is easy for any of us to fall into this trap. A whole church can state with confidence that it is following the Bible when others aren't. It has become self-righteous. It is looking down on the other churches. It points to what it is doing because it has the right knowledge while others are sub-par in performance and belief. There is a fine line between self-righteousness and doctrinal differences. Every church needs to examine itself to see why it is who it is. Self-righteousness needs to be continually rejected. Doctrinal stands need to be held to.
Self-righteousness will not place us in a right standing with the Lord. Jesus said:
Matthew 5:20 (NASB 2020) 20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
It is unreasonable to believe that Jesus was saying that you must keep the law better than the scribes and Pharisees to enter heaven. They were committed to keeping the law. No one kept it better than them. No, there is another meaning here.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB 2020) 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Our righteousness does not come because of our works. It is the righteousness given to us by the work of Jesus Christ. We can claim no arrogance. We cannot look down on others. We can't be concerned by how we look without recognizing who has given us a righteous standing with God.
This is humbling. Humility is not as common among Christians as it should be.
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