self-righteousness...
It was the first day of our vacation. We spent the afternoon soaking up some sun on the beach. The music was playing, the beach bums were dancing, and the drinks were flowing. I laid in my beach chair under the shade of an umbrella and focused on my book. Every now and then I'd look up to see what was going on. I noticed a woman out in the ocean taking pictures. She seemed to be having a great time, and she was definitely enjoying the music. Aaron and I decided we'd ask her to take the obligatory beach picture of us, to which she kindly agreed. We briefly visited with her, thanked her for her time, and then went back to our beach chairs.
The next morning we boarded a bus to tour the island. All of the passengers disembarked at the first stop and spent a few minutes touring a little factory on the island. We ran into our picture taking friend, and she recognized us. Honestly, she probably recognized Aaron because, well, he's pretty good looking and not easy to forget! I spent the week incognito wearing oversized sunglasses and a ball cap. Anyway, we exchanged hellos and Aaron asked her how she was enjoying her vacation. She said that she was having the best time, and then she shared with us how she had spent her evening. It was probably for the best that she couldn't see my eyes after she shared as I'm sure I looked surprised. It wasn't quite what I expected her to say, and it was a bit shocking to me. I was taken back by her confession, and neither Aaron nor myself knew what to say. We tried our best to come up with a reasonably generic response like, "We're glad to hear you're enjoying your vacation!" We changed subjects, chatted a few more minutes, and then we wished her well and parted ways. And I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that in that very moment, I found myself so easily thinking, "I would never do that!"
I bet you've thought that before, haven't you? No matter which side of the fence you're on, I bet you've been tempted to think more highly of yourself. Because the truth is, we hardly ever see an issue with the things we do. If we did, we wouldn't do them. We wouldn't say those things or act on them if we felt they were wrong. But we see great problems with others. We look at their decisions, their choices in life, and then we begin to compare them with ours. All of the sudden we start to look a little better in our own sight. We begin to feel greater about ourselves and we look down on another because we don't agree with them or with the way they've handled things. And by doing so, self-righteousness steps up to the plate and we knock one out of the park. We feel that our perceived goodness is far greater than their supposed discretion. And we feel a little better about ourselves as those thoughts of, "I would never..." begin to fill our minds.
Yet as I stood there fully reminding myself that judgment does no good in any situation, the Lord said, "Brittnye, your actions and choices may be different from hers, but your self-righteousness is just as displeasing to me." And I knew that. I'm no "better" by any measure. The truth is, even on my very best days, I'm far from good. So, so far from good. Sure, it's easy to maintain a certain image on the outside, to attempt an appearance of perfection, but the Lord looks at our hearts and when the two don't match up, it doesn't really matter. And that's exactly why I am thankful that God's grace extends to all of our sins and that Jesus' blood washes away all of our transgressions. Because every single day, I mess up... many, many times, mind you. It may not be visible to those looking in. Some days it may seem that my mistakes are "bigger" than others, but every day I find myself at the foot of God's throne in repentance. Asking the Lord to shed more grace, more mercy upon me. And thankfully, He gives generously.
"Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." - Philippians 2:3-4
The next morning we boarded a bus to tour the island. All of the passengers disembarked at the first stop and spent a few minutes touring a little factory on the island. We ran into our picture taking friend, and she recognized us. Honestly, she probably recognized Aaron because, well, he's pretty good looking and not easy to forget! I spent the week incognito wearing oversized sunglasses and a ball cap. Anyway, we exchanged hellos and Aaron asked her how she was enjoying her vacation. She said that she was having the best time, and then she shared with us how she had spent her evening. It was probably for the best that she couldn't see my eyes after she shared as I'm sure I looked surprised. It wasn't quite what I expected her to say, and it was a bit shocking to me. I was taken back by her confession, and neither Aaron nor myself knew what to say. We tried our best to come up with a reasonably generic response like, "We're glad to hear you're enjoying your vacation!" We changed subjects, chatted a few more minutes, and then we wished her well and parted ways. And I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that in that very moment, I found myself so easily thinking, "I would never do that!"
I bet you've thought that before, haven't you? No matter which side of the fence you're on, I bet you've been tempted to think more highly of yourself. Because the truth is, we hardly ever see an issue with the things we do. If we did, we wouldn't do them. We wouldn't say those things or act on them if we felt they were wrong. But we see great problems with others. We look at their decisions, their choices in life, and then we begin to compare them with ours. All of the sudden we start to look a little better in our own sight. We begin to feel greater about ourselves and we look down on another because we don't agree with them or with the way they've handled things. And by doing so, self-righteousness steps up to the plate and we knock one out of the park. We feel that our perceived goodness is far greater than their supposed discretion. And we feel a little better about ourselves as those thoughts of, "I would never..." begin to fill our minds.
Yet as I stood there fully reminding myself that judgment does no good in any situation, the Lord said, "Brittnye, your actions and choices may be different from hers, but your self-righteousness is just as displeasing to me." And I knew that. I'm no "better" by any measure. The truth is, even on my very best days, I'm far from good. So, so far from good. Sure, it's easy to maintain a certain image on the outside, to attempt an appearance of perfection, but the Lord looks at our hearts and when the two don't match up, it doesn't really matter. And that's exactly why I am thankful that God's grace extends to all of our sins and that Jesus' blood washes away all of our transgressions. Because every single day, I mess up... many, many times, mind you. It may not be visible to those looking in. Some days it may seem that my mistakes are "bigger" than others, but every day I find myself at the foot of God's throne in repentance. Asking the Lord to shed more grace, more mercy upon me. And thankfully, He gives generously.
"Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." - Philippians 2:3-4
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