Watch Out for the Dangers of Self-Righteousness

From the very beginning, we meet our arch-enemy Satan. He was filled with a pride that could not be contained. His self-righteous attitude caused him to be banished from the heavenly heights he had once enjoyed. We read of him:

“You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. … Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings” (Ezekiel 28:14-15,17).

However, it doesn’t end there; we read further of him:

“How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High’” (Isaiah 14:12-14).

From this we learn that self-righteousness is timeless. Before time ever was, pride and self-righteousness were there. No matter who you are or when you are, self-righteousness can grab you where you are. Satan’s brand of self-righteousness is exceedingly twisted because he doesn’t care. It does not matter to him that he is not right; to him he is not only right in what he does, but he is justified.

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We will look next at a religious leader. Maybe you would not think to find self-righteousness in such a one, but of all who are caught up in it, those who are religious are most prone to it.

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 18:9-14).

We know the story well. This Pharisee, praying with himself, believed that he was not like anyone else, because he was better. As you read you can almost smell the ooze of his wretched condition. This attitude had taken over his life; it was who was he was. From here we learn that self-righteousness is a tyrant. It dominates, devours, and deceives. Here was a man who literally believed that his many deeds made him many times better than the poor man beside him who went home justified rather than himself. 

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I’d like to next focus on two different men who sought help; one found it, but almost didn’t accept it; the other found it, and walked away from it. 

Naaman was a commander in the Syrian army. Scripture says that he was a brave warrior, but he had leprosy. We pick up the story in part here:

“Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy’” (2 Kings 5:2-3).

God provided Naaman with the answer to what he needed. Through a series of events, after a letter had been written, Naaman comes to the prophet’s house to meet him, but is met there by a messenger. We read: 

“Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, ‘Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.’ But Naaman went away angry and said, ‘I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?’ So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman’s servants went to him and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’! So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy” (2 Kings 5:10-14).

Naaman almost didn’t receive what he needed because of pride and a self-righteous attitude. He thought that because of his position, it allotted him special treatment from the prophet. We see here that self-righteousness is a thief. It will rob you of what you need most.

This was unfortunately the case with the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-24. His pride, presumption, and self-righteous attitude, i.e., believing that he had what he needed, robbed him of the eternal life that he so desperately needed. Jesus ultimately revealed to him that what he had was more important to him than what he said he needed.

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Before being saved at the age of fifteen, I myself was almost a victim of the thief of self-righteousness. At that early age, I thought that I was alright the way that I was. After hearing the gospel for the first time, I was sure that I was not a sinner. I assumed that I did not need Jesus; He was good for others who had sinned, but it just didn’t apply to me, I thought. It took about a year for me to surrender my heart to the Lord. The Holy Spirit convicted me of my sin, and brought me to my knees.

For me, self-righteousness was not only a thief, but it was also a trap. A trap that was meant to keep me enslaved in the bondage of sin and deception that I was living in.  Self-righteousness will do the same to all who are living under its dominion. The only way out is through Christ; He alone is the answer. When we surrender to His righteousness, our self-righteousness will fall away under His grace. Amen!

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