At Least I Am Not That

At Least I Am Not That!

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14; Romans 10:3; Proverbs 26:12

Good morning Strangers Rest. The title of my message this morning is “At Least I Am Not That” and it is a message about being self-righteous. To ensure we are all on the same page, I want to give you the definition of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness (also called holier-than-thou attitudes) is an “attitude and belief of moral superiority derived from a person deeming their own beliefs, actions, or affiliations to be of greater virtue than those of others.” Self-righteous individuals are often intolerant of the opinions and behaviors of others that they deem to be less virtuous. I want you to keep this definition in mind as I go through this message.

This message began percolating in my mind several weeks ago as I listened to a message by another man of God. This minister of the gospel opened his message by talking about the LGBTQ+ community and the impact they are having on families and America in general. This community, if you listen to some political and Church leaders, are credited with nearly everything that is wrong with our society. Imagine being part of a group that is blamed for nearly everything that is going wrong in society. This community has become the punching bag for those who profess to love Christ and demonstrate their supposed love by hating those that disagree with them. While I do not believe God ordains same-sex unions, I strongly reject the idea that one group of people are the source of all that is wrong in America. It wasn’t that long ago that we, African Americans, were deemed to be what was wrong in America. So to hear a man of God lay the struggles of a nation at the feet of one group of people was troubling to me.

But let me tell you why I struggled and it goes to the heart of this message. People in the LGBTQ+ community are not welcomed in a lot of Churches but Churches will welcome in their congregations and freely fellowship with liars, fornicators, adulterers, people who hate, those whose disposition is anger, jealousy, having selfish ambitions, people sowing discord (dissensions), and those who are always ready to argue (contention). All these people are welcomed in the Church as long as they are not a part of that “other” community. And get this, all of these behaviors (which are sin) are listed in Romans chapter one right alongside of those practicing same-sex relationships. So, while we detest one group, we quietly accept the other because some of us were once a part of that group and, in our minds, we were not so bad. When we look at our sins and downgrade them when comparing them to someone else’s sin that by comparison we believe is worse, that is a problem. That is being self-righteous. That is saying, I might be bad, but “at least I am not that!”

For those of you watching via live stream please open your Bibles to Luke chapter eighteen and we are going to begin reading at verse nine. “(9) Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: (10) ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. (11) The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. (12) I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ (13) And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ (14) I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

Jesus spoke this parable to some individuals who trusted in themselves that they were righteous while despising others that they deemed less righteous. As we read these verses, did you see yourself in this Pharisee or did you see yourself in the repentant tax collector? I want to speak to your heart because all of us have the potential to be just like this Pharisee. All of us have the potential to judge others so we can feel better about our situation. In this parable, a Pharisee was praying next to a tax collector. The tax collector of course was a sinner, and the Pharisee, who was also a sinner but saw himself as righteous, had no problem pointing that out to God. This Pharisee, in his proclaimed self-righteousness, despised the person he was supposed to be interceding for since he was a religious leader. He proclaimed that he was justified in his righteousness by saying, “(12) I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” You see, in his mind his acts justified his right standing with God. How many times have we evaluated the things we do outwardly as more important to God than what is in our hearts? Paul addressed this in his letter to the Galatians when he wrote, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Galatians 2:16) Our works do not justify us – it is our faith in Jesus that justifies us. God desires our hearts and no amount of fasting or money given to the Church will ever override that!