Stop Pretending You’re Not the Problem.
Let’s talk about the thing nobody in church wants to admit, there’s a lot of pretending going on. People walk in dressed in “holy,” but underneath it’s pride. They act like they’ve got it all together while secretly falling apart. They whisper about someone else’s sin just to feel better about their own. That’s not Jesus. That’s performance. That’s religion. The self-righteous point fingers. Jesus stretched out His hands. They condemn. He forgives. They build walls. He broke them down. We clap in church but we gossip in private. We preach grace but we give judgment. We raise our hands on Sunday and roll our eyes on Monday. We act like we’re the example when we’re still being healed ourselves. And the worst part? We think God’s impressed by it.
The truth is, self-righteousness is just sin wearing church clothes. It looks holy but smells of death because it depends on self instead of grace. “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” — Matthew 15:8 You can quote Scripture, serve in ministry, post Bible verses, and still miss Jesus completely. Because Jesus isn’t impressed by your record. He’s drawn to your need. The Pharisees looked spotless on the outside, but Jesus called them “whitewashed tombs.” Perfect paint over dead bones. They were so busy judging sinners that they couldn’t see they were the ones most in need of mercy. And if we’re honest, sometimes that’s us. We talk about other people’s mess to avoid dealing with our own. We hide behind “discernment” when it’s really pride in disguise. We call it “truth” when it’s just our ego needing to feel superior.
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” — Romans 3:23 That means all of us. The fake perfect. The broken honest. The ones in pulpits. The ones in the pews. No one stands taller than another at the foot of the cross. So stop pretending. Stop acting like you earned what was only ever given. Grace levels the playing field. You’re not better than anyone. You’re just forgiven. And the moment you forget that, you become the very thing Jesus came to confront. When you start measuring others by their failures instead of remembering yours were nailed to the same cross, you’re living from law, not grace. And that law will eat you alive from the inside.
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” — James 4:6 If you really want to reflect Jesus, drop the mask. Be real. Be humble. Be grace to the people religion has rejected. Because Jesus didn’t come for the ones who think they’re righteous. He came for the ones who know they’re not. He came for the people the church side-eyes, the ones the perfect avoid. He came for the liars, the addicts, the failures, the ones who ran out of chances. That’s me. That’s you. That’s all of us. So let’s stop trying to look clean and start letting His blood remind us that we already are. Self-righteousness died at the cross. Stop resurrecting it.
