Self-Righteousness

 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.  I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.  Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:14-22)

Of all the letters to the churches, this is the hardest. This is a church of self-righteousness. They claim to be rich, healthy, and self-sufficient. Quite the opposite from the church at Philadelphia. But Jesus says they’re wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. When the going gets tough, this is one of the directions we will be tempted to go. We’ll want to prove ourselves.

Having mentioned self-righteousness, we need to differentiate between it and righteousness. Righteous is defined as, “the quality of being morally right or justifiable.” Self-Righteous is defined as, “a feeling or display of (usually smug) moral superiority derived from a sense that one's beliefs, actions, or affiliations are of greater virtue than those of the average person.” For me, the key has to do with the answer to “Who says?” The righteous person is led by what is taught as being right by someone else. For the Christian, things are right because they are right, and/or because Jesus Christ said so. The self-righteous person is led by what they say is right, or what their kind say is right.

People often refer to the Enlightenment as following the Dark Ages. The problem is, the folks of the Enlightenment named both the Enlightenment and the Dark Ages. About the same time, a movement was beginning with regard to the study of the Bible. It picked up speed in the 1800s and 1900s. I don’t know when it became known as “Higher Criticism,” but again, those engaged in it declared it to be superior. Within the past 30 years, a group of Atheists got together, and labeled themselves first “The New Atheists” and also “The Brights.” Later, at least one of them acknowledged that it might not have been the best appellation, but the trend continues. I won’t even start on the self-righteousness of the political left.

The Church is not without its share of self-righteousness. Within the past 20 years or so, we’ve had the “Emergent” church, the “Missional,” church, the “Seeker-sensitive” church and quite probably others that I’ve forgotten or never heard of. Each time, this new, relevant, improved church is better than the old, rundown, mired-in-a-rut, traditional, out-of-touch church. And each time, it seems as though these new improved churches not only look down on the old ones, but look down on Scripture.

One article I found about self-righteousness listed seven steps, levels, or habits:

1. Reflexing.   Whether it’s a comment on social media, or a remark during dinner, a trip wire is tripped, a mental alarm bell sounds, and an automatic response sequence kicks in.  Whatever was said does not square with their personal world view, and the moment cannot be allowed to pass without immediate corrective action. 

2. Researching (optional).  This stage is not so much focused on gathering objective facts, as on proving the other side wrong.  It’s generally characterized by returning to familiar television pundits or social media echo chambers for bullet point arguments.  When they feel they have enough “ammo,” they move on to step three.

3. Rubber Stamp.  As they fill their bandoleers, they suspend critical thinking, simply rubber-stamping pat ideas, and preparing to send them down range.  The most powerful bullets are the short, simple, one-size-fits-all answers.  No need to question the quality of the source or adapt the idea to fit current realities.  If it fits on a bumper sticker, it’s good to go.

4. Rattling Off.  Now fully armed with these lethal slogans and catch phrases, they rattle them with a self-assured smile and watch for the impact on their target.  Clearly there is no refuting their now revealed truth.

5. Raising the Volume. When the opponent doesn’t immediately leap to embrace their enlightened theology, frustration sets in, so they raise the volume.  It’s like that clueless tourist in a foreign country who shouts louder and louder in English because the locals couldn’t understand him the first time.  As the volume rises, so does the blood pressure on all sides, even as mental doors slam shut to block out the noise.   

6. Rudeness and redundancy. When sheer volume fails to convince, labeling and name-calling is the next logical step. The weaker the argument, the more they rely on this approach to bolster their position.  It’s as if they think that painting their opponent with an unflattering label will suddenly cause them to thoughtfully consider changing their minds.  Or perhaps they are really just laying the groundwork for the final stage.

7. Relegating. When all else fails, the other side is written off as hopeless.  All attempts at communication abruptly cease, and the relationship is ended.  Though there might be agreement on 95% of everything else in the universe, clearly if they can’t see eye to eye on this singular issue, there is no point in continuing the relationship. (7 Stages of Self-Righteousness: Symptoms and Treatments (rapidstartleadership.com))

          Sadly, we all demonstrate some of these habits at times. And when we fall into this church’s error, we tend to be like Peter when God let down the sheet full of unclean things and told him to rise, kill, and eat. “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” (Acts 10:14.) Peter? More righteous than God?

          When the going gets tough, we need to remember that our righteousness is not of ourselves. We must not forget who it is we serve.