For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly will perish.
Psalm 1:6, Modern English Version (MEV)
It is a failing that far too many of those who follow the One who is the Christ have the belief that we are somehow better than everyone else. We will, of course, protest that we come nowhere near the self-righteous attitudes of the Pharisees of old, but in comparison to murderers, drug addicts, gays, prostitutes, politicians, Muslims, and other sinners, we aren't all that bad. We are, after all, saved and going to Heaven, which should count for something, right?
Most of us don't flaunt our self-righteousness consciously. We often go through years of indoctrination before we become adept at looking down our noses at people from our lofty positions of sanctification. In the end, we become the very thing Jesus spoke so much against; we become modern day Pharisees, and if anyone attempts to point out our Pharisaical attitudes, we are filled with righteous indignation.
God, of course, isn't fooled by the robes of self-righteousness with which we've clothed ourselves. The righteous ones He knows are those who have clothed themselves in His righteousness, not their own. Often, those clothed in His righteousness would never even admit to being righteous. These are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and even while God fills them, they would be horrified at the suggestion of claiming their lives are righteous.
It is time that true disciples of Christ would shed our robes of self-righteousness that are nothing but filthy rags and clothe themselves in the true righteousness that comes from God. This righteousness that comes from God doesn't make us better than anyone else, but simply means we are saved and blessed by the merciful grace of God. That is not something that should cause us to be proud, but rather that we fall to our knees in thankful worship of our merciful God.
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