Christian Living

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Yes, He did. Our meek and lowly Savior was so upset and distraught by this sin that he addressed the perpetrators in language not used toward any others in Scripture. Both His words and the exclamation points inserted by the translators illustrate this in Matthew 23. He was talking to the Pharisees, the Sadducees and teachers of the law, the most religious folks of that time. The sin that provoked such a scathing denunciation was that they considered themselves better than others, thought that they knew more about God, and that since they were special, they had the right to judge others relentlessly. Please take time to read that singular chapter.

In light of all the other ugly, in-your-face sins, self-righteousness may sound a little innocuous, but Jesus didn't see it that way. He never raised his voice to a trembling sinner who came before Him, but He most certainly did to these folks. Self-righteousness and judging others are insidious twins. They creep up and sneak into the souls of religious people oh so slowly and cleverly. Christians must be on guard every minute and remember, as they survey a sinful world, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." We are always just one sin away. We must humble ourselves before God and beg for strength and guidance to be what He wants us to be. Our own selves will be enough of a project to keep us busy for a lifetime. Not one of us has arrived at a state of perfection, nor will we ever until we get home. Only from that vantage point can judgment be pronounced, and that limits it to God Himself. None of God's lowly creatures can pass final judgment on another with impunity. There is a stark, scary result that follows that attempt. "Judge not that you be not judged; for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." Matt. 7:1, 2 Yikes!

Those poor deluded, fanatical Pharisees, etc., (and we modern day folks who act like them!) need to join in the publican's prayer, "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner." After all, he was the one that went home justified. The whole parable is in Luke 18:9-14. We must remember that we are blessed in order to bless others, not to judge them. We have no grounds to consider ourselves better than others; just constant gratitude that we are the children of a loving, merciful, forgiving Father. After all, we don't want Jesus yelling at us.

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