This won’t be a very long post at all.  It’s just that the following issue seems to be weighing heavily on my heart.  It has been for the last week or so.  I don’t have very much to say about it, but hopefully what is said is meaningful.

For much of my life self-righteousness was a struggle.  Partly because there were many things I believed in passionately, and partly because it can be very subtle.  It kinda reminds me of the Spanish dude from Mr. Deeds.  I think we underestimate the sneakiness of self-righteousness.

Webster defines self-righteous as:

“having or characterized by a certainty, especially an unfounded one, that one is totally correct or morally superior.”

Some synonyms include smug, pious, preachy, superior, hypocritical, and so on.  I think we all can agree self-righteousness is ugly.  But I think we should also agree on just how blind we can be to its residence in us.

One reason it can be hard to detect is because it hides within issues we feel are unquestionably right or wrong.  When someone pushes us on either conviction, we feel the burn of what we’d describe as righteous anger and indignation.  And therein is the biggest gripe I have with self-righteousness:

It lashes out with impassioned justification of unloving behavior.

The ascribed worth and value Jesus gave us at the cross is swiped away as we do whatever we can to make the other side feel very small.  When we feel like we own the moral high ground the ability to understand the opposing perspective is virtually impossible. 

I remember a time in which my father had to remind me that I didn’t have exclusive rights to the moral high ground.  I kinda shot him a funny look because I didn’t even realize I was up there.  We hardly ever do.  But I was and I began to see how I was hurting those closest to me. 

Self-righteousness will always push people away, which is extremely counter-productive to our mandate to love one another. 

So, that’s it.  Be on the lookout for this nasty bug.  Inoculate yourself with the perfect love of God!

Blessings,

Jesse and Kara Birkey