the greatest enemy of grace

It’s the greatest enemy of grace.
When somebody refuses to admit that he made a mistake,
when he endlessly justifies himself and blames others.
This is self-righteousness, an oxymoron in man’s soul.
In Luke 18 we have a story of two men who went to pray.
They were both religious, but very different in their way
of thinking. The self-righteous Pharisee despised the
brokenhearted Tax Collector. He obviously didn’t pray to
God, but to himself. The other man cried out: ” God,
be merciful to me a sinner!”
Self-righteousness is the main reason why people don’t
want to forgive.
Often it’s the reason why people stop following the call
of God in their life. Even Peter was first resisting God
when God called him to carry the message to the Gentiles
in Acts 10. He talks back to his Creator,
appearing to be more spiritual than God himself.
There is no understanding of grace is man-made religions.
Self-righteous person feels superior among the ordinary sinners.
Wasn’t that the well-known prayer of a Pharisee: ”Thank you
God that you didn’t create me a dog or a woman.”
This same spirit often characterizes minority religious
communities. Self-righteousness has become almost like
a part of their defense mechanism in the midst of their
struggle for survival.
It’s in all of us, a desire to be right.
If we don’t accept God’s free gift of righteousness, we will be
left on our own.
Grace brings us all together.
It’s the most important building block in the foundation of unity.
God desires to see more and more of Himself in us.
Do you want to be like God?
Start learning to give people what they haven’t deserved.
That is grace, the greatest protection against self-righteousness.