QUICK THOUGHT: The Idol of Self

Speaker 1: Welcome to Balancing the Christian Life. Quick Thoughts. I'm Dr Kenny Embry. Join me as we figure out what it means to live as Christians. Idolatry in the Old Testament is easy to identify because anytime the Israelites got stuff , they started making things to worship. The first three commandments are specific about condemning the particulars of idolatry. They could have no other gods, they couldn't make anything that was supposed to represent a god , and they should not enter into a commitment to God lightly. I've done a pretty good job of avoiding making a golden calf or bowing down before a bull, but if idolatry is replacing God with something that shouldn't be there, well, my idol isn't barnyard animals but the face looking back at me when I'm shaving. Selfishness is a pretty elusive idol because it loves to masquerade itself as Christian virtue. In Luke 18, jesus tells a story about a Pharisee and a tax collector who went to the temple to pray. You already know the outcome to this parable, but let me get you to slow down a little before you jump to Jesus' conclusion. First, both men went to the temple to talk to God, whom they both believed in. Both also believed God was in control and that God changes things. Good, that's the right action and the right motivation for both these guys. And here is the prayer of the Pharisee God, I thank you that I am not like other men extortioners, unjust adulterers and even like this tax collector . I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get . First, did Jesus say he wasn't doing exactly what he said he was? Frankly, I don't do many of the things this Pharisee did, like fasting or tithing. Second, the Pharisee expressed gratitude. He was truly thankful. What made him thankful? Well, it was because he was following God's instructions on fasting, giving of his income, being fair in business, not being a liar, not being sexually promiscuous and, unlike the reputation of the tax collectors , not being someone who betrayed the children of God by making alliances with a corrupt government like Rome. Tax collectors had a bad reputation, mostly because they deserved a bad reputation. They did bad things that sometimes got other people killed. What part of this are you against? Are you against the Pharisee being grateful? Are you against telling the truth? Are you against devoting yourself to God by fasting? Are you against refraining from being sexually promiscuous? Look, the Pharisee was grateful for being someone who could keep God's law, which gave him a good character. I realize Jesus invented this character, but I know lots of people like this who are grateful to God that following his law makes us better people. I know them because I'm one of them. I think following God's laws keeps me from a host of problems . But what is Jesus' criticism? The Pharisee trusted he could and had kept God's law. He could and had kept God's law and because he kept God's law, he was doing the right thing. And that made him righteous. By the way, that's right. Righteousness, by definition, is doing the right thing. And that made him proud. That gave him confidence. Did you notice, jesus said? He stood by himself and prayed. He came to God, confident in his standing with God. He was ready to be judged because he looked at God's standards and judged he had done well. His problem was his confidence in his ability or, as the passage tells us, he trusted in his own righteousness and treated others poorly. He knew the tax collector next to him not personally, but only by reputation of the profession. The Pharisee's problem was self-righteousness. He was so wrapped up in godly virtue he had assumed the role of God himself and judged himself righteous. The easy answer to this is to judge ourselves by God's standard instead of our own. That is absolutely the right answer. But how do you do that? Was the Pharisee able to see past his own judgments of how he interpreted God's law? Of how he interpreted God's law ? In one of his own defenses, Paul says that he had always served God in good conscience. Even when he was doing the wrong thing by killing Christians, he felt like he was serving God rightly. I don't know about you, but I don't consider myself as good as Paul. So are we just doomed? First of all, remember we are not saved by righteousness, we're saved by grace. We never earn a relationship with God. That relationship is based on the faith we have in God and the devotion we have to each other. Can we sin all the more that grace may abound? No, no, no, no, no. But if you think you are behaving yourself into a good relationship with God, you're missing the point. We are sinners because we have sinned. We are redeemed because God redeemed us, not because we haven't sinned. Second, consider your standards. There's wisdom in examining yourself by yourself. If you measure how well you're behaving as a Christian today versus how well you were a Christian yesterday, you're gauging progress. But you also need to measure yourself against the perfect standard the standard you will never measure up to. You need to know God well enough to know how far short you fail. That still means you have to interpret God's will, and we don't always do that well. But as you progress in your relationship with God, hopefully you grow in understanding him better. Further, are we open to being challenged by even people we disagree with? The Pharisees didn't agree with Jesus, and that was a problem. They didn't have a good reason to disagree with him. They never checked his facts, they just assumed he had been wrong. Because, well, they never checked his facts. They just assumed he had to be wrong. Because, well, most people who went against the Jewish leaders were wrong. Next, what do we get out of it? Just because you get praise or recognition doesn't mean it's wrong. When the Israelites obeyed God, they were praised. That's a very good thing. But who is doing the praising? And are we in it to get closer to God, or are we in it to have someone tell us we're doing the right thing? Finally, is there someone whose opinion you trust to challenge you? Jesus challenged the Pharisees and Paul. The Pharisees largely resisted and Paul, blind and mute, learned how to stop listening to himself and start listening to God. Of all the idols, the idol of selfishness is the one I fear most, because it is the idol I often recognize least. Let's take this to God. God, we often get in our own way, we mislead ourselves and we ask that when we are on the wrong road, you would send us others who challenge our thinking. We pray for failure when we are self-deluded. Help us to never attack others out of reaction and, even when we are attacked, to love those who are on the assault. Likewise, help us to be that for others. We all have blind spots when it comes to being self-righteous. We do pray for righteousness. We pray we are right, but help us to keep our egos in check. Remind us that being right simply means we're closer to you , but we are not you. You are truly the only one who is always righteous because you are always right. Put us in our place and help us to rely on you more. Help us to love you more, because you love us even when we're stupid, even when we fail and even when we dethrone you from where you rightfully belong . We pray. We avoid all idolatry, but help us to avoid worshiping ourselves. Idolatry, but help us to avoid worshiping ourselves, because we cannot have a closer relationship with you when we assume your place. We love you. Help us to show that more In our King's name, amen. Now let's be good and do good.