The Righteous Lie
When a righteous person, someone who appears to have it all together, comments that they are truly righteous, they lie. One who is striving to be righteous under the law knows many of the attitudes and habits where they fall short of being truly righteous. Consider the attached gray image. While in the black, the emoji appears almost white but against the white background, it is clearly gray. When pursuing perfection, there is a point in that pursuit where an outsider will think perfection has been achieved.
As a photographer, I cringe when I look at the slides I took with my little 110 mm automatic 45 years ago. Then, with my first 35 mm film SLR (yes, it used something called film that came in a metal tube that was inserted into the back of the camera), perhaps 1 or 2 out of 100 came out good enough to print and sell. After wearing out my Yashica, I purchased a Minolta SLR and shot thousands of slides, learning how to reduce my flaws so they were not so dramatic. I finally considered myself a semi-professional photographer, until I offered to photograph a friend’s re-commitment of vows ceremony. It was held outside on a bright, clear, sunny day. Perfect photography weather. My physical eye adjusted for the shadows cast across the faces, but the camera film did not. None of the photos were even close to being printable. I was so embarrassed and kicked myself for what I later learned I should have done - use a fill flash. If not for the shadows, the photographs would have been good. I was not a semi-professional; I was still a hobbyist. Today, with my Nikon D7100 and good lenses, I am semi-professional, sort of, but I still will not photograph a wedding or other important event where a do-over is impossible. Although many have admired the relatively few photographs that may be worth printing and selling, even after 40 years of practice, I still see flaws in my best photographs. Often I must settle for one or two that are 90% perfect out of the hundred I shot. Thus, if I ever profess to be a professional photographer, I would be lying.
In our relationships, we often see others as having it all together, as being righteous. Compared to one’s struggle with drugs, alcohol, pornography, adultery, and violent crimes, (the darkness) those that have developed good habits appear to have it all together, to be righteous. Thus, to expose our hideous progress towards righteousness to one who is already righteous; that would earn us their scalding judgement. At least that is our perception as we slip into the background where we can safely cower, alone. That lonely safety is far better than being sorry we revealed our weakness and received their righteous bludgeoning. At least that seems to be how many stumbling towards righteousness envision an encounter with a righteous person. This is common reasoning found on all levels of growth, from children who admire an adult to successful adults who see their flaws while perceiving their peers as having it all together. The fear of being rejected or criticized because of a struggle they assume their pier has long ago overcome. Or perhaps they have bought into the lie that they are alone in their ‘unique’ struggle, a struggle no one else could understand. Back to the picture of the gray emoji against a black and white background, I may see some shortcomings in another, but compared to my darkness, either I don’t notice their ‘gray’ struggles, or I consider them insignificant. Often this fear of man keeps us in our dark corner, terrified to risk being known, being exposed and ridiculed. Often one prefers the safety of tackling life with Jesus over disclosing their struggles to other people who would never understand or help.
If a righteous person comments that they are truly righteous, they are lying. If the standard of perfection is Jesus, then for someone to consider they have reached that perfection means they are not in the light.
This is the message God has given us to pass on to you: that God is Light and in him is no darkness at all. So if we say we are his friends but go on living in spiritual darkness and sin, we are lying. But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ does, then we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins. If we claim we have not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar, for he says we have sinned. 1 John 5-10 NLT
A truly righteous man will know that he continues to fall short of the Jesus standard in many areas of his life. And he will know his own struggles in climbing to where he is now. When you risk revealing your struggle to a truly righteous man, that man will smile in understanding, put his arm around your shoulders, and tell you some of the ways he overcame the sin in his life. A truly righteous man will offer to come along side of you for a while, to offer insight, encouraging you with his experiences, and pushing you to persevere as you stumble forward toward righteousness.
So, when you meet another that appears to have it all together, who you respect, choose to take a risk and be a bit vulnerable. You may discover an ally instead of a critique.
