Sources Of Self-Righteousness

If we are courageous enough to look inside, we would know that our self-righteousness comes from defending a low self-image. People who have a low self-image cannot admit failure or sin. They will not accept forgiveness from God because they do not see the need.

That’s why Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Mark 2:17).” Not even God can help a self-righteous person.

In reality, there are two kinds of people in this world, those who know they are imperfect and those who don’t know they are imperfect. When we stop defending ourselves, we can be less self-righteous. Laughter can replace uptightness. Acceptance can replace blame. Grace can replace guilt.

Second, we become self-righteousness when we defend our God. We see this in verses 7-12.

Zophar begins by saying that people cannot understand God. Not only that, he tells us why we cannot understand God. Zophar is defending what he believes God is doing in Job’s life. But God doesn’t need our defense, and most of the time, we are wrong about what God is doing in our own lives and in other people’s lives.

The son of a renowned Christian leader died in an accident. After the funeral, some people came up to the leader and said, “God will use the death of your son to bring many to Christ.”

The father replied, “But my son was going to be a pastor. God could have brought many to Christ through his ministry.”

Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” In other words, there are certain things we cannot know, no matter how much we ask God, how much we studied the Bible and how long we wait.

Most of the time, people defend God, because they want to define what God can or cannot do. An indefinable God is a scary God, and most people don’t have the courage to face the unknown. So to be self-righteous is better than to be scared.

But we must admit that certain things are not for us to know. Let God defend Himself. When we stop defending God, we begin to worship the true God, who really is higher and deeper than our finite minds can comprehend.

Third, we become self-righteousness when we defend our success. We see this in verses 13-20.

Zophar probably looked at Job, and he looked at himself. He saw that he was a success in life compared to Job’s current circumstance. If Zophar lived today, he would hand out “The 4 Spiritual Law,” “The 7 Ways to Financial Success, (God’s way of course),” and “The 5 Steps to a Happy (Christian) Home.”

Recognizing patterns for success is helpful, but we need to also recognize that God is not a heavenly vending machine that spits out blessings when we put in the correct change. God desires a trust relationship, not a tried and true reward system.

People who are successful can be self-righteous. Graduating with good grades, working in a good job, and having good fortune, if not understood as God’s grace, might be interpreted as outcomes from taking all the right steps in life. And you will begin to defend your ways to success, while ignoring true success, which is an eternal relationship with God.