- Am I moody in my assurance of salvation, depending on the present state of my sanctification?
- Do I think of myself as better than other Christians who do not do things in "my" superior way -- schooling, parenting, doctrinal convictions, church life?
- Am I as fearful of the moral and religious as I am of the immoral?
- Do I get discouraged by criticism?
Friday, March 30, 2007
Are you self-righteous?
Mark Lauterbach asks some great questions concerning how you know if you are self-righteous or not:
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1 comment:
This was a fascinating article — thanks for posting it.
I wonder if self-righteousness is one of those elements that lies in the weeds and isn’t usually recognized by those harboring it. What I mean is, I wonder if some of these more “underlying” sins (like the one named in the article) are not obvious to the person.
In fact, I think a person who perhaps has this bad condition may feel in their heart the very *opposite*: condemned, unworthy, and laboring under the wrath of God. I think the thinking goes like this: Other people may be able to be saved by the grace of God but the “self-righteous” person feels utterly unworthy of that grace and feels they must *earn* the favor and love of God by their own feeble offerings (ie: obedience and other methods of trying to earn the love of God). But I wouldn’t say “pride” fuels this. It’s the opposite—a deep-seated sense of condemnation and unworthiness.
Also, I'm not sure about the "feeling superior" part, either. I think the "self-righteous" person may feel terribly INFERIOR to other Christians who *are* accepted by God and who don't have to jump through gazillions of hoops to obtain something they freely received.
At least, that’s my perspective. :-)
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