Are you a Pharisee or a struggling Christian?

As a Christian struggles to follow the Master, there are many possibilities.

One can get lazy and backslide into a life bent on nothing but pleasure. Jesus warned us about this possibility when he talked about the seed falling among brambles. “The seed sown in thorns is someone who hears the word, but the worry of the world and the lure of riches choke the word and so it produces nothing.”

The opposite extreme – just as harmful – would be the life of a Pharisee. Such a Christian pretends to seek God above all things but uses religion merely as a means to win praise. The person walking that road may not even realise the danger. But we know we have chosen the wrong path if we become engrossed in making comparisons: “I do all these good things. Those people are wasting their lives doing evil. I’m so much better than they are.”

You may find yourself thinking that thought – especially the last part: “I’m so much better...”. Perhaps it doesn’t happen so explicitly that you would say such a thing out loud.

PARABLE OF THE TAX COLLECTOR

Still, if you do catch yourself thinking such thoughts, you need to go back and read the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector. (It’s in chapter 19 of St Luke’s gospel.) Comparing “my righteousness” to the sinful life of some “tax-collector” is the key characteristic of the life of a Pharisee.

There is nothing wrong with recognising a fact: “I do some good things.” If you have time for prayer every day, that is a very good thing. If you struggle to be sorry for your sins, that is a very good thing. If you make sacrifices to help others, what could be better? You are fulfilling the greatest commandment, trying to love others as Christ has loved you.

 There is nothing wrong with recognising a fact when you see a friend or relative causing harm, for instance, getting drunk or stealing money. We are not supposed to turn a blind eye to evil.

On the contrary, Jesus said: “If your brother does something wrong, go and correct him, alone, between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.”

 So where does the Pharisee step in? When you compare. When you think: “Thanks be to God, I’m not like that person.” When you say: “I am better.”

 St John reminds us in his first letter not to be proud: “If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and truth has no place in us. If we acknowledge our sins, he is trustworthy and upright, so that he will forgive our sins and will cleanse us from all evil.”