One More Thing with Pastor Tim Burchill 1.22.2024

      I Think I’m Better Because I’m Afraid I’m Not

          The "roots of self-righteousness" is not a sense of superiority and achievement.  Quite the opposite.  Judgmental people look down on others in order to try and bolster their own self-esteem.  We create pecking orders and hierarchies of moral or religious achievement so that we can have concrete proof that we are okay—that we are at least better than obvious ‘sinners.’  The whole nature of judgmentalism flows from our fear that we are not good enough, attractive enough, accomplished enough, popular enough, or loveable enough.

          That’s where the gospel of Jesus Christ comes in.

Of course we are not enough.  We never have been and never will be.  But the good news is that we don’t have to be.  God is more than good and graceful enough for all of us.  The goodness and unblemished character of Christ is imparted to us in that mysterious exchange which takes place on the cross of Calvary.  He became poor so that we could become rich; he became one of us so that we could become One with God.  We are loved and appreciated and cherish because we are sons and daughters of the Most High King and when we accept our place as heirs to the Kingdom and live out our royalty in our love for others then we become so much more than we ever could have become on our own.

          There is no need to look down on other human beings.  People are people—each and every one of us a mixed bag of one degree or another.  We are called to look eye to eye, heart to heart with those God has put in our lives.  And to appreciate the many and varied differences between us as part and parcel of the gift of life.