Judge Not

Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. -- Psalms 143:2

Self-righteousness is a dangerous game, as is grading on the curve.  I'm not nearly as bad as some of my neighbors, so I must be all right.  God, though, holds up an absolute standard of right, of goodness, and purity that I cannot meet.  I am weakened in my will by passion and desire.  I hear that which is false and grasp at it, longing for it to be true even as I know it is not.

It is obvious this week, perhaps more than usual, that we live in world that just prefers the comfortable lies to the gleaming, relentless truth.  It is not enough for us to tolerate blatant sin in our midst.  The sinner is not happy unless we acknowledge, accept and even celebrate his deviance.  I suppose there is a certain reassurance that, even as the judgment of God looms, there are still people who are on our side.

It seems to me that it is not the religious people who are engaging in judgment and self-righteousness.  I'm not judging the abortionist, the homosexual, the liar or the adulterer.  I am simply pointing out that "no one living is righteous" before God.  I'm not saying I'm better than another person.  I'm saying that God is better than either of us and that, apart from Christ, we are both under judgment.  The difference is that I know it and admit it while others continue to live in denial.

The people who today are gloating over what five people in black robes said or even what fifty percent of Americans believe will soon find out that truth doesn't get voted down or ruled unconstitutional.  They are the more vehement, the more exuberant in embracing their error because, in their hearts, they know they are wrong.  They will project their shame onto us and blame us for the horror they feel at their own sin. 

Don't be surprised if it gets ugly.