Guess What? I'm a Pharisee

The most dangerous pitfalls of spiritual leadership are that I judge others and I also tend to think progress in the faith is based on my effort. Isn't it a shame that I can take the gift of grace, that was freely given to me, and then condemn others?! Or in the second case I abandon grace to progress by my fleshly attempts and religion!? Those are my specialties! I sin wickedly then cry out for mercy and God grants it. From that point I take the grace of God and apply it to myself, and after receiving grace upon grace I pick up my religion stick and beat the crap out of anyone who dares to sin against God.

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed."This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:23-35)

For those of us that feel like 'we've got it,' I am with you in the struggle. It is difficult to guard yourself from self-righteousness. It is difficult to guard against arrogance that thinks that we know best. I pray that God would deliver us from the error of taking what was freely given to us and slamming the door of heaven in peoples faces (Matthew 23:13).