Home Page
Archives

Is It Self-righteous to Be Righteous? By David Wright         One Saturday I tuned the radio to an ESPN station, hoping to hear some talk about a game to be played later in the day. That morning the host of the live program was irate over an email from a listener offended by the show's affiliation with a liquor company. “Don't write us again,” jeered the host. “Go away! You are so self-righteous.”         Is it self-righteous to take a strong moral stand and openly express your views? If so, Jesus himself was self-righteous. He condemned adultery, sexual immorality, theft, murder, slander, deceit, disrespect for parents, and, yes, drunkenness. He also opposed sins of the heart--greed, lust, envy, malice, selfishness, and hypocrisy. For Jesus, these were not private opinions. He voiced his values boldly and explicitly. And yet, there was no hint of pride in the Lord's demeanor.         To be self-righteous is to be arrogant: “I am better than other people. I have more worth before God.” This attitude, of course, Jesus denounced (Luke 18:9-14).         What the ESPN host and many others fail to realize is that a moral person may share his views not out of contempt but genuine compassion. For instance, the person who sent the offending email was probably motivated by deep concern over the consequences of encouraging and glamorizing alcohol consumption. No doubt, the writer was distressed by the thousands of drunk-driving collisions each year that scatter dead bodies up and down U.S. highways, by the countless broken marriages, the ruined careers, the abused children, the addicts living in cardboard boxes.         No, it is not self-righteous to be righteous.