One of the cleverest masks Satan uses against the righteous is the illusion of righteousness. While we are called to pursue righteousness and live righteous lives, we are incapable of achieving it on our own. We need Jesus and His sacrifice to grant us access to God’s righteousness. We cannot achieve righteousness on our own; we can only pursue or strive for God’s righteousness. Since we can never fully attain it this side of heaven, Jesus helps us bridge that gap. So, the Devil knows this about us. He knows we are constantly striving to be righteous and he uses that against us. Satan sneaks into our minds, wearing the masks of righteousness, and distorts our understanding of righteousness. He transforms our pursuit of God’s righteousness into a pursuit of self-righteousness.
Righteousness is defined as “being morally right or just, in alignment with God’s standards, and is a quality of being virtuous and just in one’s actions and thoughts. It’s rooted in humility, recognizing that true righteousness comes from God and is pursued through His guidance and grace.“
Self – righteousness is defined as “the belief that one is morally superior or more virtuous than others, often accompanied by a sense of smugness or arrogance. It’s the attitude of feeling justified in one’s own actions, beliefs, or decisions, while dismissing or judging others for not meeting the same standards. A self-righteous person may see themselves as always right, often disregarding humility or the need for self-reflection.“
Satan’s influence on our thinking and approach to righteousness is subtle and gradual. People rarely leap directly into the sin of self-righteousness. Instead, most self-righteous individuals begin by pursuing God’s righteousness, but over time, they stop measuring themselves against God’s standard and begin comparing others to their own perceived righteousness.
The Scriptures of full of warnings against self – righteousness and reminders of our inability to be righteous on own:
Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. – Romans 10:3
As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; – Romans 3:10
All have turned away, all have become corrupt; here is no one who does good, not even one. – Psalm 14:3
For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. – Galatians 6:3
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. – Isaiah 64:6
Self-righteousness was one of the major sins that ensnared the Pharisees, and from Jesus’ reaction to it, it seems to have been one of the sins He found most repugnant especially when found in the so-called righteous.
He emphatically declares this during his last week on earth when in Matthew 23 he pronounces His woes on the Pharisees:
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. – Matthew 23: 27-28
Jesus even gave a very pointed parable (directly primarily to the Pharisees) about self – righteousness which can be found in Luke 18:
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Jesus desisted the self – righteousness. Why? Because it displays a complete lack of humility, a denial of your true position in relation to God, and a complete rejection of God’s grace and mercy. In other words, when we are self-righteous, we elevate ourselves to the position of God, equating ourselves with Him.
I can’t begin to imagine how angry self – self-righteousness that makes God. Jesus’ visceral reaction to the Pharisees’ self-righteous mindset should give us a clue. They, of all people, knew how much God had done for them and how deeply humanity needed Him. Yet, they had decided that their own ideas about righteousness were more correct than God’s, which blinded them to the truth that God Himself was standing before them, condemning them for the very behavior they upheld.
Like the Pharisees, Satan seeks to trap God’s people in the loop—the echo chamber—of self-righteousness. Once caught in that vortex, it becomes incredibly difficult to recognize it in ourselves and make a course correction. The longer we deceive ourselves and compare others to our own standards, the deeper we sink into the black hole of self-righteousness.
We must remember Jesus’ parable. We cannot cast condescending looks upon others. We cannot brag about our own self-perceived righteousness. Instead, we must remember that all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory and righteousness. It is only because of Jesus that we even have a chance to approach the throne room of God and ask for forgiveness. Only the poor in spirit and humble in heart understand their true need for God therefore, just approach His throne to beg for mercy.
But that is not how the self-righteous approach God’s throne room. They come before God puffed up, proud, and self-confident.
How could we actually approach the throne of God and brag about our righteousness to Him? How can we expect to escape the judgment of God when we approach Him that way? Jesus tells us plainly in his parable how that works out. For, I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.
Don’t let the Devil deceive you. Pull off the mask of self -self-righteousness and see the truth. None of us are righteous on our own. No. Not one. #SinsGreatMasquerade
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