Pharisees were devout Jews, but were known to
be the people that often fell on the side of Jesus'
strong rebuke. It wasn't that He didn't love them
because God loves everyone, but He admonished
their self-righteous attitudes and perceived self-
worth.

While most of us may not believe that we're at the
level of being self-righteous, we should always be
careful and look deeply into ourselves regularly to
check for signs that we are becoming arrogant and
judging others rather than ourselves.

It may be important to note that the pharisees also
didn't believe they were acting in a self-righteous
way either. They didn't wake up and think, "Oh, I
think I'll be a moralistic and self-righteous believer
today." Moralistic tendencies are actually in all of us
to some extent because it is our default to think in a
moral framework. While this is not all that bad, it's
not all that harmless either.

Here are 12 different signs that we can use to
check ourselves to make sure we are not falling
into "pharisee-ism" and becoming self-rightous
and judgmental.


1. We are quick to ignore our own mistakes, and
even quicker to spot the mistakes of others.

2. We focus on our skills and strengths and ignore
our weaknesses. That's not to say that we should
ignore our strengths and emphasize our
weaknesses, but we must be aware of both and
accept them as always present.

3. We act differently when in front of people than
when we are all alone by ourselves.

4. We value tradition more than people.

5. We value results over relationships. Results are
good, but they are best acquired when done
together.

6. We insist that people follow our way of doing
things -- the way we raise our kids, the way we
teach, the way we lead or even the way we worship.

7. We become attracted to the spotlight and find
every opportunity to be placed in it.

8. We're always looking for the perks and never
sacrificing benefits for the sake of others.

9. We take honor more than we give it.

10. We value convenience over serving others, and
often find it hard to go out of our way for those who
are of an apparent lower stature than ourselves.

11. We preach advice over the good news.

12. We do things to obtain the praise of man, rather
than the praise of God.