As this year of college is coming to a close, there is something that I have witnessed in my life, and I would assume that is a common denominator among many of my Christian brothers and sisters. This has been ruined my perception of so many, and has become extremely offensive to my God in heaven. Selfish Arrogance. I'm not simply speaking of wanting your way when we dont get it, or thinking we would do better at this position than so and so, or even being frustrated at our circumstances because we can't see the good in them, and we think we know best. No, what I speak of, I believe, hits much closer to home for any person in the faith, and for that matter, on the outside as well. We are selfish in a way that reveals the deepest depravity of our hearts. We believe that we have the right to hold our fellow Chrisitians to a standard that Christ isnt even holding us to. How on earth do we think we have the right to pass judgement and pass it off as juicy gossip concering those around us? I have heard and done some form of this interaction so many times that I am often blinded to the weightiness of what's going on.
It goes something like this:
Person 1: Hey, do you know so and so?
Person 2: Ooh, uum, yeah I do, she's a great person, its just...
Person 1: Wait, just what?
Person 2: Ooh no, like I said, shes a great girl, I just have a bad taste in my mouth because (Insert juicy piece of gossip that skewed this person's vision of the other here)
Person 1: Ooh man, I didn't know that about her, but I can kinda see that about.
Person 2: But dude, like I said, she is an awesome girl, she's just got some sin/growing that she needs to deal with.
It is so suttle that we either let it slide, or don't even notice it. But it leaves person 2 feeling good because they pointed out a flaw in someone else which makes them feel much more secure with their shortcomings. We all deal with our depravity in this way, because we all know the truth about ourselves. We are wrecthed. Comparison is the idol of choice for person 2. And then person 1 invariably has a skewed vision of the person of conversation, and the next time they interact with that person, their own impression is all but lost, and the only thing that is left is the gossip extended his way. So next time he hears that person pray, speak of the Lord, be kind to someone else, we question their intentions because we know some dirt. This then becomes a matter of the heart, always assuming that person's intentions are off-base when they do something we disagree with, or don't know the full story of. Then we tell our friends about what this person did and what you heard, which skews their vision of that person. It's cancerous. And the body of Christ is devoured from the inside. "I would never do that, I just cant believe so and so did." It makes us feel good. We hold a sick sinner up to our standards and watch them fall short. What arrogance? Now matter if you are person 1 or 2 (trust me I've been both plenty of times), we rub dirt in Christ's side everytime we pull out our measuring sticks and size up a fellow believer. As Paul says, "Are you so foolish? Having started with grace, are you now ending with works?" Grace is the victim here. We mock God's very sacrifice we when do not allow our eyes to see only the blood of Christ that covers a person's life. Christ calls me holy, blameless, and beloved, why is it so difficult for us to do the same? My prayer is that gossip would be crushed, and selfish arrogance woud have no place in our hearts.
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