The Sin of Self-Righteousness
Jordan McKinney
As a Christian I have come to find that the hardest thing that I struggle with is not the overt and obvious sins, but the one of self-righteousness. The problem with self-righteousness is that we as Christians don’t recognize it in our lives, or worse, we try to justify our actions as “living a holy life.” For me self-righteousness disguises itself in spiritual disciplines, good works, and as a pastor, even my job. I think that there is a great deal about grace that we need to work through that we haven’t yet. The perfect example of this is the parable of the prodigal son.
Often when we hear the parable of the prodigal son we think of the story of the youngest son and the fathers love and forgiveness. We miss the fact that there are two prodigal sons in this story, both the younger and the older son are lost to the father. The older son, though he stays home, is just as distant and lost from relationship with the father as the younger son. At the end of Jesus’ story, the older son refuses to enter into the father’s house for the feast. He is out in the dark while the father is begging him to come into the house. This parable is told to the Pharisees, who, like the older son, have lived their lives dedicated to the work of God, but missed a relationship with God.
There is a reason why I think those of us that struggle with self-righteousness need to have a better understanding of grace. When we struggle with self-righteousness we are doing two things: First, we are going back to a works-based faith. We are trying to earn our salvation and prove to God that we can be good enough. There is the idea that God has a score card and is marking down both the good and the bad things that we do. But, as we know, none of us will ever be good enough. There is no way that we could ever live a sinless life; that is why Jesus came to take the punishment for our sins and reconcile us to the Father. If we could do it on our own there would have never been a need for Jesus. We would be following the 613 laws that are found in the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant. We need to come to terms with the fact that we now live in God’s grace and we can live by faith. We don’t have to earn God’s love, He has already shown and given us the greatest gift, His son. He has redeemed us and adopted us into His family, no strings attached.
The second struggle with self-righteousness is a more dangerous one. It comes from a place of trying to control God. Now this might sound crazy at first, but hear me out. When we look at the parable again we see the older son try to control his father and get the father’s money as well. The older son worked hard, he always did what his father asked, but what was his motivation? It was all about the inheritance. He wanted to be in good standing with the father to get the gifts of the father. He missed having a relationship. I think this is where pastors, and all Christian’s for that matter, might not realize that they could still be lost. The way to recognize if this is something you struggle with is by evaluating how you deal with conflict and loss. When times are hard do you find yourself saying, “Why is this happening? Didn’t I do everything you asked, God? I tithe. I go to church every Sunday. I lead a small group. I volunteer. I read my Bible. I pray. God, why would you let this happen to me?” When this is your reaction, you might have been lost just like the older son. You missed God himself by seeking after the blessing of God.
This is where grace comes into play. We desperately need to come back to the gift of Jesus. Jesus came to reconcile and redeem those who are lost back into relationship with the Father. We don’t need to earn God’s love, we already have it. We cannot bargain for it through our actions, it is freely given. When we decide to accept the free gift of God’s grace we say that we cannot become self-righteous, but only by God’s forgiveness can we be made right with Him. We remove ourselves from the equation and we now belong to God. It is by faith alone. I will leave you with the words of Paul from Philippians 3:7-11.
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”