Self-Righteous

​Meditation
Deuteronomy 9:5,6--You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Self-righteousness is a dangerous malady. Instead of recognizing and valuing God’s sea-parting miracles, we float in the miniscule pond of our accomplishments. Rather than rendering reverent worship to our awesome God, we laud our transient virtues. We substitute His overwhelming holiness with our idolized infected integrity. Speaking of Israel, Romans 10:3 says, “Because they disregarded the righteousness from God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted themselves to God’s righteousness.”
           
Self-righteousness is a hazardous malaise. In a fallen world, “all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6). Job proclaimed his innocence and righteousness and then, after encountering God, repented of his words (Job 27:6,42:6). Self-righteousness is antithetical to humility. It is hearing and therefore learning-impaired. Inflated with its importance, it becomes “smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others.”[1] Sitting on its fool’s gold throne, it issues harmful judgments, proclaims its own achievements, while failing to recognize its recipients all left the sanctimonious palace in disgust.
           
Jesus blasted the religious leaders of His day for advocating and practicing strict religion with little regard for the spirit. Hence, it was inconceivable to them that their unrecognized Messiah would audaciously heal sinful people on the Sabbath. This is why Pharisaicaless became a synonym for self-righteousness.
           
True righteousness is credited to us by God through faith (Genesis 15:6; Rom. 10:10) and detached from self-reliance. It is authenticated through obedience to His commands (Deu. 6:25), rewarded by the Lord (2 Samuel 22:21), and attainable through Jesus (Philippians 1:11). Godly righteousness exalts God and is a blessing to all. To pursue it is wise and fulfilling. Something to think about . . . in reveration.
           
Inspiration
“Self-righteousness is an effective bar to God’s favor because it throws the sinner back upon his own merits and shuts him out from the imputed righteousness of Christ.”—A.W. Tozer in God’s Pursuit of Man
 
©2025 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  To receive these devotionals, go to www.firstcause.org and click the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed, subject to the inclusion of this copyright notice.     
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)
 


[1] https://www.dictionary.com/browse/self-righteous