Self-Righteous Deafness

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. (Galatians 1:11-16 NIV)

There is no doubt about it... Paul was on fire for Christ. Paul loved Jesus and he would not rest until everybody else knew him and loved him too. But this was not always so.

There was a time when Paul was still Saul and burned with passion for God... So much so that he was willing to kill those who did not believe as he did. Saul loved God and he really believed he was doing the right thing by trying to rid the world of these Christ followers. Saul was a Pharisee and knew the scriptures very, very well. He really thought he was doing what God would want him to do.

Saul thought he was acting righteously, but really he was acting self-righteously. I have no doubt that God tried to tell him in many different ways, but he would not listen. His self-righteousness made him deaf to God's voice...until finally God took away Saul's physical sight so that he could see the spiritual truth... And murderer Saul became our beloved Paul.

Paul is not alone in his deaf self-righteousness. We do it too. We find some scripture to support our argument and off we go... crusading for a god of our own design. We could memorize the Bible cover to cover and study the scriptures every single day, but if we don't take time to listen to what God has to say about applying them, we are in danger of becoming a Saul.

Saul believed the terrible things he was doing were right, and he believed it with all his heart and soul. It goes to show us that just because we believe something with all our heart and soul, it doesn't make it true. Ask God about the things you believe... and listen. Don't wait to be physically blinded in order to finally see.

Father,
As we fight our battles for your truth, please show us what is your truth and what is only our own self-righteousness. Let us always follow the path of love, grace and forgiveness rather than hate and vengeance. Amen.

Joys: a beautiful mountain hike yesterday; quiet time away from electronic gadgets; feeling refreshed