Beware Looking Down on Others
Luke wrote: “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable.” (Luke 18:9 NIV)
The Pharisees’ self-confidence made them feel very superior. Made them feel, as we would say, “holier-than-thou”. Once again this is a very subtle error in the Christian life, because the truth is we are called to be different, to be separate from the world and culture around us.
Spiritual Superiority Issue
After all, light is better than darkness isn’t it? So we think because we’re in the light, we are better! And we look down on those who don’t know God the way we do.
In today’s world, the differences between true Christianity and our culture are expanding. More and more we see the mainstream culture disconnecting from Christian ethics and values. And so many Christians, wanting to preserve ourselves and our faith, often go into defence mode, and we start thinking: we are good, they are evil! And everybody who doesn’t hold our values becomes the enemy.
The Pharisees did exactly this. Jesus said “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.” (Luke 18:11 NIV)
They considered themselves faithful and everybody else failures. And so they looked down on all other people. I have gotten this wrong over the years too. Especially when I was a young, teenage Christian. Looking back, I was so zealous for God that I couldn’t understand why nobody else shared this passion. And so when Christians in my church group started drinking, I got nasty with them! When people didn’t hold my views, I sneered! When people didn’t carry the same enthusiasm as me, I wrote them off!
I didn’t realize that in doing so, I was also sinning, and dishonouring God. Let me say that again in case you missed it: I didn’t realize that by looking down on others, I was also sinning and dishonouring God.
Humility in Christianity
God doesn’t call us to look down on others with a sense of spiritual superiority. He calls us kneel down in front of them and to offer them good news!
A Nazarene pastor named C Neil Strait wrote a little book called To Be Holy, and I loved his words at the end of the book: “If you polish your ‘halo’ and see yourself as a saint, it’s going to be a hindrance to those with whom you associate and attempt to share… any air of spiritual superiority or spiritual pride threatens the very relationship we so treasure.”
He’s right. Forgive us, Lord, for any air of spiritual superiority we give off! Forgive us, Lord, for polishing halos when we should be washing feet!!!
If you are a faithful Christian, striving to live a holy life in His honour, passionately following Jesus in all that you do, quit looking down on those who aren’t. Quit making others feel less-than.
How much damage has been done to the Christian faith because we sneer and judge from a dizzy height – like Pharisees – instead of bending down and caring and showing love.
