Dear Friends,
So I was
reading the other day this book by Bonhoffer. And this quote stuck out to me.
“There can be no genuine
acknowledgement of sin that does not lead to this extremity [speaking of Paul’s
comment in 1 Tim. 1:15]. If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way
smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still
not recognizing my sinfulness at all. My sin is of necessity the worst, the
most grievous, the most reprehensible.”
This quote started me
thinking. The Lord has recently been
convicting me of my own pharisaical lifestyle. I grew up in the church reading
all of the stories about the Pharisees. I thought they were dumb prideful,
clearly evil men. However, as I’ve been studying the Bible more closely, I have
realized that the Pharisees were a lot like me. They had a desire to be holy.
The studied and studied and studied the Scriptures. They grew up in a religious
household. They had memorized scripture since childhood. They went to Bible
school. They loved the Scriptures.
So why
then, you might ask, were they so looked down upon in the Bible? Well, most
people looked them up to, but Jesus saw through their facade of holiness
straight to their heart. He saw that they were prideful. He saw that they
actually put the Scripture before God. He saw that they compared themselves to
others instead of God.
Perhaps you
already know most of this, but do you know that many Christians today probably
struggle with the same exact sins. I know for myself, I know A LOT about the
Bible. I’ve been reading it since before I knew how to read. I’m even at one of
the best Bible schools in the nation. Also, if I were to be honest with you, I
would tell you that I view myself as a fairly decent person. No I’m not
perfect—but I haven’t committed adultery. I’ve never even tried illegal drugs.
I’ve never been an alcoholic. I haven’t ever committed one of the really bad
sins. A week ago, I don’t know if I would have ever admitted that out loud, but
I definitely didn’t believe that my sins were any worse than everyone else’s.
You see I
struggle with pride. I want to know that I’m doing things right, so I compare
myself to other Christians. I am tempted at times to view the Bible as a
textbook--One that the more you study the more you learn about it’s background,
authors, literary styles, and oh ya…God.
I tell you
all this, not so that you think higher of me because I’m so honest—in fact,
that would defeat my purpose. I want to tell you my story in hopes that you
might examine your life. If you are convinced that you aren’t anything like a
Pharisee…then you probably are closer to a Pharisee then you think. I would
challenge you to ask God to show you the Pharisee in you. Be open. Be genuine.
And I promise you: God will move.
In Christ,
Hannah
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