Not Sex or Alcohol

On a recent Sunday morning, our pastor included in his prayer a sentence about gratitude. “Thank you, God,” he said, “for forgiving us our sins.” He went on to talk about how grateful we are that through Jesus’ sacrifice our sins have been forgiven.

I have to tell you, I felt a little misrepresented.

I’m not all that grateful to be forgiven; it is a flawed system.

In a perfect system, I would need no forgiveness. Everything I did would be right. Not only that, everyone around me would know that I had done the right thing and would appreciate, perhaps even be a little awed by, my deeds.

In an almost perfect system, God wouldn’t forgive me. My little misdeeds would be so small that he would excuse them as not worth worrying about, just little technicalities. Of course, everyone around me would agree with me and God that I was perfect, or so close to perfect that the difference did not signify.

This kind of fact-fudging is typical of people who are actually trying to do what they should. It isn’t the slackers in my class who will argue whether or not an answer is right; it is the A, actually the A+, students who have hard time admitting failure.

Which lead me to the title of this piece. The great temptation of our culture is not sex or alcohol, it is self-righteousness. The motto of Americans everywhere – I can be anything I set my mind to, I can do anything I want to do– brainwashes us into believing in our own power, our own strength. If we try hard enough, we can be perfect.

And this temptation is even greater for us Christians. We have a standard that we are trying to live up to. We may not manage it twenty-four hours a day. In fact, our good intentions may not last much past Sunday dinner, but we are trying. That should count for something, right?

Wrong. All the efforts in the world count for nothing if they are ladders on which we climb our way into heaven. I think this is part of what Paul is talking about when he calls Jesus a stumbling block. The first century Jews weren’t looking for forgiveness, they were looking for vindication.
Righteousness, SELF-righteousness, is not a new issue. In a sermon to the Israelites, Moses cautions them all against thinking “it is because of my righteousness that Yahweh has brought me in to possess this land.” (Deut. 9:4) It is hard work accepting grace because it requires me to give up the fantasy that I am – or could be, with just a little work – perfect.