The Biggest Temptation of the Modern Christian is Self Righteousness

I am grateful Jesus didn't intimidate people with his righteousness. When Jesus left his home land (saying a prophet is not honored in his own home) he went to Galilee. And do you know why the Galileans accepted Him? It was because they'd been at a feast with Him, at a wedding party, and at the party Jesus had turned water into wine. Seriously. That's why they liked Him. And it wasn't because He gave them alcohol, it was likely because he was a likable guy. We like the people who make us feel good about ourselves, like we are worth something. Do you know, Jesus is the only person who has ever walked the earth who knew, intuitively and truthfully, how priceless people are? How amazing is it that the one truly righteous man in all of history had a kind of righteousness that didn't make people feel bad about themselves? And it's not because He was such a nice guy, either. The woman at the well was crazy about Him, even after He spoke bluntly about her romantic disasters. In fact, stop reading this for a second and count the characters in scripture that rejected Jesus because they wanted to go on sinning? Now count the characters that rejected Him because of their religious hangups and self-righteousness. I'd say the latter outnumbers the former ten to one, at least.

Most people who read this blog are Christians. Will you consider the idea that the temptations have not changed, that we are still more tempted by self-righteousness than by anything else?

Did Jesus make some people feel bad? Absolutely. He made religious people feel terrible. His reviews were scathing. He consistently stood up to those who lied to people about their intrinsic worth.

I'm reading through the gospels again, and I'm amazed at how much I am still drawn to Jesus.

The Biggest Temptation of the Modern Christian is Self Righteousness is a post from: Donald Miller's Blog