WHEN
I WAS A PHARISEE

Topics: Attitudes; Convictions; Entertainment; Faultfinding; Holiness; Humility; Hypocrisy; Judging Others; Legalism; Lifestyle; Presumption; Respect; Self-righteousness; Tolerance

References: Isaiah 65:5; Matthew 7:3, 13–14; 23:1–3; Romans 2:1; 8:33; 1 Corinthians 11:28–32; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 1:16

When our children were young, my husband and I decided we wouldn’t watch R-rated movies. We made this decision in good conscience and never regretted it. I found, however, that it made me feel judgmental toward other parents who watched R-rated movies. I began to feel they weren’t fully committed to Christ because they watched things I’d decided not to watch.

I realize how ridiculous it is to judge someone’s relationship with God by what movies he or she watches, but my evaluation was so subtle at the time. As I made this judgment, I never thought about my own sin or all the things the person I was judging was doing right. Instead, I focused on this one thing I thought they were doing wrong.

Being a Pharisee is so easy. It’s great to make rules to guide our own behavior, but when we extend those rules to everyone around us, we’re in danger of becoming like the Pharisees, whom Jesus denounced as hypocrites.

—JoHannah Reardon, in newsletter introduction at ChristianBibleStudies.com