Article September 22, 2014 Issue

Subduing self-righteousness

Marianne Scott

Have you ever felt so right about something that you saw no need to go to God? Has your own sense of righteousness replaced everything else, including God? I have found that when we allow self to enter righteousness and crowd out God’s righteousness, we lose the ability to know the difference between divine wisdom and human opinion; between what is right and what is wrong.

To be self-righteous is to be convinced of one’s own rightness, especially in contrast with the beliefs and actions of others. In other words, I am right and that other person is wrong. I know what should be done, and he or she doesn’t.

Righteousness, on the other hand, has been defined as “acting in accord with divine or moral law: free from guilt or sin.” As I see it, divinely influenced righteousness is in harmony with God, without a trace of self-righteousness. True righteousness is never personal. It flows from an understanding of our real nature as God’s expression, in which we have no mind or will or ability of our own. At all times, and in every circumstance, we can reflect God’s wisdom and direction.