Holier than thou
If you are a convert to Christianity, and didn’t grow up in a Christian home or atmosphere, you’ve no doubt received criticism about your faith from friends, coworkers or family that just don’t seem to understand your decision to follow Christ. I was recently said to have a “holier than thou personality” from a family member, and it really got me thinking about what prompted such a scathing comment.
Oftentimes, non-Christians who knew you before you decided to follow the Lord will remember you for who you were, and fail to recognize the person that you have become in Christ. Because of their failure to realize that you are made new in Christ, they see you as being the sinful person that you were, only a newly conceited version that considers yourself better than others, despite the life that you’ve lived. To someone that doesn’t understand the Gospel, and the forgiveness of sin that is offered by the blood of Christ, you seem to be saying, “though we are both sinners, I’m better than you!”. I can understand how that would be frustrating.
The thing that I find most troubling about this is that a) people truly saved by Christ do not consider themselves to be “holier than thou”, and want to share the Gospel message with everyone so that all can be saved, and b) people that refuse that message oftentimes think that they are not in need of salvation. But, who isn’t in need of salvation!??! Someone who considers themselves to be holier than a repentant sinner who has accepted Christ, that’s who.
Truly repenting of sin and accepting our need of salvation found through Christ alone is the most humbling thing that you can do. When you are truly saved, you are not putting yourself above sinners, you’re admitting that you are a sinner. You are humbly saying, “God, I’ve sinned against you. I’m no better than anyone. I deserve nothing less than death. Lord, I humbly accept you as my Lord and savior and am forever thankful for the sacrifice you’ve made on my behalf.”.
Yeah, Christians sure are stuck up, aren’t they?
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8
99 shades of grey 
Mind Blowing in your accuracy! Great post, I felt this way when I got saved too, lost most of my friends pre-Christ in my life. You nailed the issue right on the head. May God keep blessing you with His wisdom and understanding. Merry Christmas.-WATW
I like my wife (WATW) lost a lot of friends from my childhood years, through high-school, due to their lack of wisdom in the matters of being “born again”. All we can really do is stay strong in our faith, forgive them for their judgement toward us, and pray for them to be touched by the Holy Spirit. Don’t give up on them though, you may be the one to introduce them to the light of our Lord Jesus. Even if you don’t preach to them… they will see the changes for good in you.
Thanks to you and your wife for checking out the blog! It’s definitely a hard feeling to lose family and friends as a result of being born again, and it’s something that I’ve seen quite a bit of over the last couple of years. I agree that all you can do is pray that those who hate you will eventually open up their heart and accept the truth. God bless you and your wife! I hope to keep seeing you guys on the blog!
Just thought I’d let you know… One of my favorite a-cappella groups “The Blenders” did a song called “Gray Matters” it’s on their “From the Mouth” and ” Now and Then” albums.
I thought it was relevent to your site…
1M4C
I like your comment that “When you are truly saved, you are not putting yourself above sinners, you’re admitting that you are a sinner.”
A great reminder because all of us are sinners before and after accepting Christ. Just, as you stated, forgiven. What a beautiful Christmas story! God Bless,
Mike
Thanks for the comment, Mike! I’m glad you guys liked the post. This was a response to a certain group of my very broken family that I didn’t get to see this Christmas. I was hoping to patch things up, but, alas, some weren’t ready to move on. Oh well…maybe next Christmas! God bless!
Loved reading this this morning…thank u….GOd bless…Happy 2012!!
Thank you! I appreciate you stopping by the blog, and I hope you have a great day! God bless!