LOVE this quote from Melinda Selmys' book Sexual Authenticity:
It doesn't help that everyone else is trying to put forward the idea that they are not in the same boat. This is the problem that I have always had with a certain kind of Christianity (...) where everyone pretends that they are shiny, happy, pious people.
The problem with the Pharisee standing in the middle of the market square in his properly tasseled garment, with his hand lifted up in prayer and supplication, (...) is not only that he is drowning his own soul in pride but also that he is drowning the souls of everyone who sees him in despair.
The image of the "whitened sarcophagus" is absolutely perfect: inside, the Pharisee is just as corrupt and worm-ridden as the people he looks down on. His outward perfection is of the sort that people only possess in funeral statuary and eulogies, an ideal that we can only aspire to when we are dead.
So when this ideal is put forth as a living reality, as "being a Christian," it is little wonder that people turn away and say, "No. Not for me. I can't do that." Or, more commonly, "I can't stand those sanctimonious prudes. Why would I want to be like them?" This is the problem with the Pharisees - almost paradoxically, by never doing anything scandalous, they scandalize everyone around them.
Genuine holiness requires humility.
It's a good thing to let others see our brokenness, our humanity. In fact, it is refreshing. Not one of us is perfect. We do not have to live up to some unattainable standard. Our hope rests in Him. Thank goodness for that.
:)
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