The Most Dangerous Sin

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: **“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Jesus is teaching the multitudes. He tells them this parable. Two guys go up to the temple to pray. One a religious leader. Highly respected. Schooled in the art of prayer. Religious traditions. The other a lowly tax collector. Despised. Hated by others. The lowest of the low. The religious guy prays first. “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.**I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”

The tax collector stands a long way from the religious guy, and he prays. He doesn’t even look up. He says, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

Jesus then makes the most startling observation – the second man rather than the first went home justified before God. Jesus is saying the tax collector is justified before the religious leader. The crowd is shocked. They murmur among themselves. “Jesus is saying that the tax collector is justified before God instead of the Pharisee! Unbelievable! And notice the other thing that Jesus said, “…For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Jesus is highlighting the most dangerous of all sins. The sin of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness can go by many names: arrogance, pride, disdain, contemptuousness, condescending, disrespect, and pompousness and the list could go on. Self-righteousness can be found just about any where you go. Politics. Academia. Hollywood. And yes, even in church. I have found it in me. It is interesting because I never thought of myself as self-righteous. I would even say that the more self-righteous I became the less I could see it. I now realize that it is an occupational hazard.

Years ago, I was listening to a Sunday message. The pastor spoke about how when he read the bible he would underline and highlight passages that spoke to him. I found it interesting because I did the same thing. I highlighted. I underlined passages. I even make notes in the margins. The pastor then described how after years of studying the bible in that manner he went through his bible looking at the passages he didn’t highlight or underline. I began to do the same thing. One passage stood out to me. Romans 12:3 “I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” It is interesting to me that up to that point I had not underlined or highlighted that verse. Maybe I never felt the need to. That day the verse got underlined and highlighted.

The sin of self-righteousness is very subtle and incremental. It happens over time. It happens under the radar almost without you noticing. Self-righteousness begins on the foundation of the good and the pure. I can see it happening with the religious guy. He grows up in love with the things of God. He studies. He applies himself. He works hard in his studies. Over time he sees the fruit of his study. People complement him on his knowledge. Others begin to ask him questions that he answers, and he explains. He gradually enjoys being the expert. The answer man. He feels respected. Honored. The seeds of self-righteousness are growing. Then one day he finds himself in the temple area praying. It strikes him that he is at a totally different place in his life than some tax-collector who had slipped in. He thanks God for his position. His authority – or at least his perceived authority.

Self-righteousness is also an attitude you have about others. You hear it in Luke 18:9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: Did you catch the phrase, “…confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else,” It is so very interesting to me that Paul writes this about Jesus, in Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” Paul then goes on and describes the servanthood and the humility of Jesus and how he gave himself for humanity.

The other thing about self-righteousness is that it is highly addictive. We love being right. Telling others how right we are. Impressing folks with how much we know. The story is told about a young gifted seminary student sent to preach at a local church. This young, arrogant preacher climbed into the pulpit as one church member later noted with his “peacock feathers flying in the breeze.”

The sermon was a colossal failure. It didn’t even make it to the front row and the young man was devastated. As he walked down the steps from the pulpit, there were tears of embarrassment in his eyes. An old saint standing at the foot of the stairs said rather unkindly, “Son, if you had entered the pulpit the way you left the pulpit, you might have left the pulpit the way you entered pulpit.” Good advice for every preacher.

It also good advice when we enter the throne room of a holy God as well. We should enter humbly. Repentantly. On our knees.

So that’s my take on the most dangerous sin. What I don’t know is how to fix it. In fact, it is difficult (maybe impossible) to write about self-righteousness without being self-righteous.

What then is the solution? A new 12 step study for the self-righteous and arrogant and proud? Not this time. Maybe The solution isn’t in the discipline of making ourselves less self-righteous. Maybe it is in the recognition that we aren’t all that we think we are.

The secret to getting better might be to simply recognize how difficult it is to get better. Maybe I simply need to come to Jesus with it. Maybe I need to tell everybody I know that I ‘ve been to him. Maybe I need to tell others. That he has a plan for their lives. And we need to humbly and gently invite Him to guide your life. Your words. Your attitudes every moment of every day. And do it all In Jesus name.

And now Lord let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you in your sight. In Jesus name amen.