Beware of Self-Righteousness

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Romans 2:1

 

 

A woman looked out of her window every morning and commented on the dirty laundry on her neighbor's line. One day she noticed it was sparkling clean:

 

'Maybe she's using a new detergent,' she remarked.

 

 'No,' said her husband. 'I got up early and cleaned our windows.'

 

Hello! When Paul talks about '...greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception...gossip' (Romans 1:29 ), it's tempting to think it doesn't apply to you.

 

Then he says, 'You are just as bad...you...do these very same things.'

 

Maybe you've never embezzled money, but have you ever short-changed somebody? Or taken an 'iffy' tax deduction?

 

How about when you're stuck in traffic, or you overhear some juicy gossip?

 

Phil Yancey says:

 

'Murder and adultery differ from hatred and lust only by degree...Paul reserves his most scathing comments for self-righteous people...

 

A Pharisee of Pharisees, he knew the pattern...the danger that accompanies a feeling of moral superiority.

 

Just as denial keeps you from seeing a doctor about a lump or lesion...denial of sin leads to worse consequences...

 

I accepted a speaking engagement from some Christians involved in Twelve-Step Programmes...As I pondered what to say...it occurred to me that what recovering alcoholics confess daily-personal failure and the need for grace...represent high hurdles for those of us who take pride in independence and self-sufficiency.

 

Romans 3:9-20

No One Is Righteous

⁹ What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. ¹⁰ As it is written:

"There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
¹² All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one."^[b]
13 "Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues practice deceit."^[c]
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."^[d]
14     "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."^[e]
15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶     ruin and misery mark their ways,
¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know."^[f]
18     "There is no fear of God before their eyes."^[g]

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

-----------

God's grace is the only solution.

It comes free of charge, apart from the law and...human efforts towards self-improvement...

 

we need only hold out open, needy hands-the most difficult gesture for a self-righteous person.'

 

 

---