“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 I possess.”  (Luke 18)

 

Or in other words, but in the same vein and spirit, “[g]od (little g b/c he’s “praying thus with himself”), I thank thee that I use not the NIV or the ESV, or the RSV, or any other version…. And [g]od I thank thee that I’m not Catholic or Seventh Day Adventist, or Methodist, or the wrong flavoured Baptist. [g]od, I thank thee that I go not to the movies, or wear the wrong kind of apparel. [g]od, I thank thee that I went to the right Bible school, where I learned not to be worldly, and I learned to be better than others boys with long hair (and/or girls in pants). [g]od, I thank thee that I attend all and every service possible and I thank thee that I work and work and work and work to earn your favour…..I thank thee [g]od, that I am not like those who live freely in liberty. which is really sin, like movies and motor cycles, and other fun things that I’m told and taught are wrong.”

I think you have gotten my point by now. The Pharisee is not extinct or gone from the world… no, not at all. The Pharisee is very much in the world and by that I mean he is very much in the world and of the world. The Pharisee thinks he earns and deserves God’s Grin with all that he does that other so called Christ-ians aren’t doing. He/she wears the right clothing, has the right hair length, and she has the right skirt length, and they listen to the proper Christ-ian music. You see their pharisaical standards are very much worldy.

The Pharisaical spirit or mind set is all about outside and visible duties and standards and that is the very definition of worldiness. All is appropriate, everything is tucked in and at the proper length, the right Bible is clutched as a sign of rightness….not righteousness, but rightness. The Pharisaical spirit looks down the spiritual nose at others, they misheard our Lord, they thought He said, ” He that hath a nose (instead of an ear), looketh down it at others.”

I know I sound harsh and that is because I am being harsh. I had a pharisaical mindset once. I think most new converts do at the beginning. The new convert is learning what is right and wrong, true and false, good and bad, they have a new world view and they have not yet learned to balance it with humility and meekness. The new convert, naturally thinks every one should be saved and he recognizes the sinfulness of sin in other’s lives and he is on top of it….everyone one must stop sinning and be saved…don’t they understand?

The above paragraph pretty much defines the new born believer in his infancy and that is natural, we have all been there, but then as God’ grows us and the Spirit’s fruit begins the ripen we begin to balance out….we are not okay with sin….we still want everyone to stop sinning and be saved but we have grown in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord and we learn to remember the sinner mindset (b/c we had one), we have learned that the Christ-ian need not be “on fire” all the time but we must be set as a light at an even and steady burn.

The pharisaical spirit does not understand this because he is yet carnal, after (15) fifteen years he’s still obnoxious and  so “on fire” for God that other’s cannot stand to be around him for all the smoke. The Pharisee is one who is worldly and all he does is in the flesh…it is all carnal… it is to be seen, recognized, and acknowledged. Readers, I understand this mindset.

I understand this mindset. I have been inprisoned therein. I was the guy that wanted his wife to wear skirts just to make everyone else happy or rather so I wouldn’t have to deal with the looks and judgement…after all, in this mindset, people think she should be submitting all over the place and if she’s not in a dress or a skirt, I’m not “leading” my household and if I’m not leading my household, how can I be a preacher and lead a church. I’ve been there, I’m tell’in you. I also wanted my kids to sit perfectly still and silent like a little angel statue….I was young and stupid and I was of the pharisaical mindset….As Paul would say, I did it in ignorance.

Good grief, I was even told that my shaved head, go-tee and a Korean wife, in pants, is not the way to get a pastorate in a certain type of pharisaical church. Readers, this is worldliness magnified, manifested, and on display!!!, but the Pharisee can’t see it, he/she is blinded to it.

Some may call this a hit piece on a certain brand or camp or circle of so-called[c]hrisianity (lower case on purpose) and I suppose it is. It is a hit piece because that spirit or mindset must be hit, IE. pointed out. Our Lord sure pointed out that pride-filled spirit and mindset often and on every occasion He encountered it and was engaged by it. He used Words like hypocrite, vipers, whited sepulchres full of dead men’s bones, and cups clean on the outside but dirty on the inside to describe the persons possessing this spirit.. He knows the heart of every person and it is clear that He has a special distaste for the pharisaical spirit  or (non)spiritual pride and as we grow in Christ-likeness we must also develop a distaste for the pharisaical spirit and we must point it out when it looketh down  it’s nose at others.