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Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”, Luke 18:10-14
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”, Luke 18:10-14 People who spend their time challenging your integrity (pointing out your flaws and hypocrisies) only want to justify their lack of integrity. They think it will make them feel and look better to others if they can show how bad someone else looks. That was the attitude of the Pharisees which motivated Jesus to tell them that prostitutes and tax collectors would enter the Kingdom before they would.
Don’t get me wrong, if our walk with God is shaky then we need to repent and walk in faithful obedience to the Lord. Let’s not waste our time making someone else look bad in an attempt to make ourselves look good. Pointing out worse behavior in others to minimize our own bad behavior is arrogant and foolish – it won’t improve anything in our lives. We are justified by faith in Christ alone, trusting in His righteousness alone. Our works are worthless without being born again. After we’re born again our works represent our trust, gratitude, and obedience to our Savior.
We need to get over ourselves and off of everyone else. God justifies the faithful and gives grace to the humble, but He resists the proud.