Self-Righteousness

As believers sometimes we may believe that what we have worked for all of our lives and what God has blessed us with is a sign of our righteousness with The Father. We have to be careful not to cross the line of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is exactly what it says it is; a person is self-righteous when they start judging their good standing with God with the things they have accumulated on this earth.

In the book of Job, this was a mindset that Job had and it took repentance on his part to change his thoughts about God.

Job 19:9 (NKJV)
He has stripped me of my glory, And taken the crown from my head.

When Job went through his trials and everything that he worked so hard for throughout his life was no longer there, he immediately attributed that to his not being righteous in the sight of God anymore. The things on this earth that you have gained don’t make you righteous. You might say, “but God has given me all of these blessings.” Absolutely true, God has indeed poured out blessings on your life, but that is not what makes you righteous. When a person gets in the mindset of self-righteousness after that mindset comes another mindset, the one in which you think God owes you something.

Job said that God had stripped him of his own glory. It’s was never our glory to begin with, it is and will always be Gods glory that is upon our lives. Job also says in 31:4 (NKJV) “Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps?” Job is saying, isn’t God looking at all the good things I do on this earth; this is a form of pride that Job is displaying. Again you’re not righteous because of your good deeds, if that were the case no one would be able to hold onto Gods righteousness because we all have sinned.

You are righteous before God because when you decided to dedicate your life to His ways, you were created in it (Ephesians 4:24 NKJV). When God made you He accepted you because you were formed by Him and God don’t make junk. Throughout life God may not approve of some of the things you do, but that doesn’t change how He views you as His child.

So I’m saying if you have experienced some sort of loss or mishap in your life don’t think that God is not with you and that He has given up on you. As long as you seek Him, He will be found by you. Every experience we go through in life, good or bad; there is something to be learned. That’s what life in Christ is about; learning, maturing, and being obedient to God.

I pray that this has been a blessing on your lives.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org