“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith.“— Philippians 3: 8-9
“Oh, God,” someone once actually prayed, “I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income” (Luke 18:11-12).
Maybe you’ve never actually heard those exact words. But if you’ve been in religious circles long enough, you have probably felt that sentiment. These words were spoken by the religious leaders of Jesus’ time, the Pharisees.
The Pharisees were upright, righteous people. They observed the law, performed their service to God religiously—and loved to talk about it. They may sound exaggerated to you, but I’ve had my Pharisee moments. Suddenly, things are feeling good with God. I’m on a spiritual pinnacle. And somehow, it’s easy to start judging everyone else who doesn’t live by the same standards of holiness by which I think I’m living.
Look at another character in the Scriptures by contrast: A tax collector, considered unrighteous in those days, “stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’” (Luke 18:13).
What did Jesus say about these two? “I tell you that this man [the tax collector], rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
A judgmental spirit is a sure sign of SELF-righteousness, not godly righteousness. Paul counted all the self-righteousness he had earned as “garbage” – or as other translations put it more graphically, “dung” or “rubbish.” He urges us to be honest. To admit that we have problems with sin, our flesh, and our attitudes.
The only righteousness or good that dwells in us comes from Jesus. And the only work that really counts begins with our faith in Him.
The rest is rubbish!
“People wrap themselves up in the flimsy garments of their own righteousness and then complain of the cold.” (unknown)
