“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.’” —LUKE 18:11-12, NIV
Have you ever encountered a “religious spirit?” That might sound spiritual, but it’s not good. A religious spirit is demonically influenced thinking and behavior. More specifically, it blocks the flow of God’s love while appearing “religious.”
A religious spirit was present in Jesus’ day, manifesting itself through the priesthood and among the Pharisees and Sadducees. Jesus told the parable in Luke 18:9-14 as a warning to those who viewed themselves as righteous and despised those not meeting their standard of holiness.
Tolerating a religious spirit produces a double injury: it blocks the flow of God’s love to others, and also blocks it from us.
God chose the nation of Israel to be a light to the world and an example of a redeemed people in favor with God. They were meant to provoke jealousy among the rest of the nations so that they would turn to God. That was Israel’s purpose.
But they’d grown into hard, cold, religious people. A religious spirit makes you unloving and causes you to look down on those who are not religious. You feel superior to them.
That’s a horrible place to be, puffed up with pride. Thoughts like, “I am more godly or spiritual,” lead to prejudice and a judgmental attitude. That’s not good news. It turns people away from the Good News.
The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
A religious spirit causes us to forget that before Jesus saved us, we were in darkness, broken, and confused. Then the love of God came and melted our hearts.
We cannot postpone showing love and mercy to the lost, waiting until someone changes. That’s not what Jesus does. He’s the good Shepherd who, after making sure the flock is safe, goes out and pursues the lost one with love and kindness. Let that be our heart and nature, too; and let a new supernatural flow of the love of God hit this generation as never before.
