The Pharisee in Me

I was a Pharisee when I first became a Christian.  Not on purpose, of course, and I would have denied it if asked.  But looking back, I most definitely was.  I accepted Christ later in life (at the age of15, which is late when you consider that most people make this decision before adolescents).  As a result, I got really serious all at once about being a Christian.  I started bringing my Bible to school, wearing Christian T-shirts, listening only to Christian music, and I even helped start a prayer group that met before class on my high school campus.  In many ways, these changes were good for me, and I believe they played a pivotal role in helping me to take my faith seriously.  Unfortunately, there was also a negative side to my all-at-once, new-found excitement about Jesus.  People who didn’t have it began to really stick out to me.  Before making this life-changing decision, church people all seemed alike.  I didn’t really think of them negatively or positively.  I simply saw one’s church affiliation in the way we might see someone’s allegiance to a sports team.   

Some people like the Cowboys, others like the Texans.  Similarly, some people are Baptists, others are Methodist.  And some, just like in the sports world, could simply care less.  Then there are those that identify with a sports team simply because a spouse or parent really cares about it.  You’ve probably heard people like this say something like: “well, I guess I’m rooting for the Rangers because it sure will make so-and-so happy if they win.”  There are church members like that too.  It's a pretty safe assumption that when people immediately want to tell you all about their son’s church, or their parent’s pastor, they may not have a strong church affiliation of their own.  Finally, there are the "fair-weather fans."  We see fair-weather church people appear out of nowhere when building projects are completed, church directories are put together, or anniversary services come around.  None of that bothered me before accepting Christ, because most of the time, it went unnoticed.

Following my conversion, I began to notice it too much.  I grew up in a “church town,” and all the popular kids when to a nearby church across from the high school.  Many of those people, in my estimation, were not “real Christians.”  They would come to prayer rallies like “See You at the Pole,” or to “Fifth Quarters” held at the church following home football games.  But many of them were also the same people that had a reputation for partying on the weekends, and cursing like sailors.  In short, these people were sinners!  When I would see them involved in mission trips, service projects, or attending church camp, instead of rejoicing in the opportunity they had to encounter God and have their lives changed, I would sneer on the inside.   

Isn’t it interesting, that I only began to be prejudiced against sinners after my conversion to Christ!?  I had received the Spirit of Christ, but I had the flesh of a Pharisee. And it is to Pharisees that Jesus says: "...there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent (Luke 15:7)."  

Do you struggle with taking joy in the things that make God rejoice?  Does associating with sinners make you sneer instead of smile?  It's never too late to ask God to change your heart!