I had it all written in my head. A great post about a pet-peeve. But then it dawned on me that my motivation for writing it was exactly what I wanted to condemn. My gosh, how sinful we are without even knowing it!
My topic was going to be about how we feign politeness as a cover for our passive aggressive manipulations. If you don’t know what I mean my kids will tell you! They’ve pointed out my tendency toward this for years.
It’s when I say something like:
“When are you going to clean your room?,” when what I mean is: “Go clean your room now!”
“What is your plan for summer reading?,” when what I mean is: “You better get a plan in place NOW!”
“I heard that Mary, Sue and Jane turned in their applications,” when what I mean is: “You are way behind and better get your act together and your application in.”
Do you do this too?
My great post idea would’ve challenged us to examine our hearts to see when we’ve sugar-coated our statements instead of communicated directly what we really mean. But after God revealed my Pharasaical heart-bent in this I had to stop and repent. So now what I think we first need to see is how we are all Pharisees!
Have you ever thought about how the things we so quickly condemn are often our very same sins? How blind we are to our own condition, but fast to see sin in others!
The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that our “heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” But like the Pharisees’ cluelessness to what Jesus was trying to tell them, we act as if this is not true of us.
We think because of things like: going to church and even serving on a committee, having a quiet time, donating generously to charity, doing nice things for people (maybe even sacrificing our time) and not struggling with any “big” behavioral sins or dealing with depression that we are doing “good.”
As a Pharisee we feel especially good about ourselves for doing these things when we see others who fail to hit our mark. But what we fail to see is how this standard of self-imposed righteousness can become the very basis of our sinful pride. And that’s the problem of the Pharisee: We think we are better than others and functionally live as if we don’t need a Savior.
What the Pharisee doesn’t take into account is his/her sinful motives and desires, self-righteousness and pride as equally condemning as someone else’s outward rebellion. This is what makes it is actually harder for the Pharisee or “elder brother type” (as seen in the parable of the prodigal in Luke 15) to come to Jesus.
This also plays in to why people outside the “church” view the church as hypocritical. They may say it’s because we are Pharisees, but really it’s because we are unrepentant, blind Pharisees. No wonder people want to distance themselves from Christians.
But when we see, admit and confess our sin, everything changes. Not because we will stop sinning, but because of how we then handle it. Being a regular repenter – not a lack of sin or doing everything “right” – is a more accurate assessment of our walk with the Lord.
Therefore when I see someone acting on my pet peeve, I better be willing to look in the mirror. It’s not easy or pretty, but it’s how I see I need cleansing and what points me to the only One who was righteous for me.
Jesus came to live and die for both types of people – those who know they are bad, and those who think they are good!
For more about the Prodigal God parable and this topic, click here. To get blog posts in your inbox be sure to subscribe!
