Am I Righteous Because I Can See A Little Wrong?

No one doubts that Ron Wilkins impacted the lives of many people before he died.  However, there were people who would not have anything to do with him because he had spent time in prison.  This is in spite of all the wonderful things he had done.  One may wonder why this would happen to someone like Ron, but the answer is quite simple.  It comes from one person thinking that someone else has an unforgivable sin and this attitude is an especially great temptation for people who have been raised in a spiritual environment.  These people have been taught the mindset that if they have not done anything as bad as someone else, they must be more righteous than him. 

The Pharisees in the Bible are a perfect example of this attitude.  They could not believe that Jesus would eat with sinners (Lk 5:30).  Yet, if they had an elderly parent who needed help, they would give money to corban, which was the temple account that would build interest (Mk 7:9-13).  After the parents died, it was common practice to withdraw the money and interest.  They would dishonor their mother and father by neglecting to help them, believeing that everyone was fine because they did not engage in socially unacceptable sins, such as prostitution.

People who are not religious do this as well.  In my own life, I was a part of the drug culture.  My friends and I would look down on others who we thought had unacceptable behaviors. Of course, this often ends up being a justification for why it is okay to keep engaging in a behavior.

 Fortunately, this is an easy problem to fix.  It starts with a humble attitude.  A person who thinks he is righteous because he can see other people’s wrongs has a high me factor.  Next, apply the listening skill.  In my own life, I had to understand that all of us have sinned and fallen short (Rom 3:23), including me.  I also had to put myself in God’s shoes as well.  God sent his Son because he loved the world (Jn 3:16).  That means he even loves those people who engage in the socially unacceptable sins of the world and wants them to be saved.  This has helped me tremendously when someone does something that I think is wrong.  I no longer look at how wrong they are and how right I am, but how they need Jesus just like me.

One night my wife and I were watching a movie called Scrooge.  It is based off of the Dickens novel, I Christmas Carol.  In the movie, Ebenezer sings a song called “I Hate People” where he points out how nobody can live up to his standards of perfection and acceptable living.  By the end of the movie, he realizes his own character flaws and begins to care for his fellow man.  He used humility and listening to turn condemnation into compassion.  It goes to show that even Ebenezer Scrooge can learn to love others with the skills of Jesus.