“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:6
Have you ever considered why we try so hard to be holy and righteous? It’s so hard to live a perfect life like Jesus commanded us to.
In fact sometimes we get discouraged when we’re trying so hard to be what God has called us to be as Christians and we see people who don’t go to church, don’t tithe, nor do they produce fruit and they seem to be doing just fine. The problem is we are trying too hard. We are working too hard trying to be holy and righteous when Jesus has already finished the work.
Jesus confronted this issue and used the Pharisees as an example in His sermon on the mount. In Matthew 5-7, Jesus raised the bar to a level that even the Pharisees realized they could never attain. The Pharisees were taught to hate their enemies; we’re told to love ours. They were told to judge; we’re told to recognize the fruit but not judge.
Here is the point. Their concept of righteousness didn’t glorify God, it glorified themselves. They sought a confidence before God based on their achievements instead of His works.
God knows we are going to struggle with sin and righteousness. That is why we need to work harder on increasing our faith in Jesus instead of trying harder to please God with self-made achievements. Until we come to the realization that we need to lean on Him instead of doing it all on our own we will never be satisfied.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) We need to come to a point of brokenness so we can lean on Him for everything.
Pray
Lord, help me to know that I can’t do anything without You. You are my strength and my shield. Help me to overcome my self-righteousness and pride.
