Self -Righteousness

A few Sundays ago my pastor delivered a sermon that knocked me off of my self righteous high horse. Most of my blog readers go to Grace Fellowship and know what I am talking about. For the readers I have that do not, let me catch you up. John 8, the part when the adulterous women is thrown at Jesus' feet and condemned by the Pharisees. Jesus ask the one who is with out sin to cast the first stone and of course they all tuck tail and run. Jesus then forgives the woman and tells her to sin no more. In the sermon, it was brought out that the most despicable sin was not that of the adulterous woman but the self righteousness of the Pharisees. I AM A PHARISEE. But my self righteousness is gained through grey matters not a black and white issues like adultery. At least the pharisees knew that was absolutely against God. You see mine is in all these gray areas that I have laid down as my own way to please God. Here are a few things in my life that I think make me more righteous than...lets say you! I am a stay at home mom, I home school, I have 7 children, my husband is faithful, my house is nicer than yours, or maybe some days it is that your house is nicer than mine so you must be of the more worldly than I am to think so much of your house, I attend church every Sunday, I do not drink, my doctrine, or my church. You see, I have made these "things" replace Christ's sacrifice. More than that, you know what scares me, I am training my children to be self righteous little pharisees as well. How often do I here "that shirt shows her belly, she wears a bikini, they watch Hannah Montana, she has a boy friend, they talk back to their parents, they don't go to church". Shame on me. No wonder my children can't get over that being a Christian is not about what you "do". That is all I ever teach them. RULES!!! Even I know the old saying, "Rules without Relationship lead to Rebellion". Please pray that I will begin by having a right relationship with Jesus and second that I might retrain my children that it is better to be the adulterer laying forgiven at the feet of Jesus than the self righteous Pharisee whose knowledge of God's LAWS keep them from ever really know Christ, the friend of sinners.