Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Wretchedness

Nothing is more wretched than self-righteousness, because it keeps one from repentance and because it makes one a harsh and cruel judge of the neighbor (who obviously isn't as righteous as you are).

And what does one gain from self-righteousness? Only delusional self-gratification that is always in danger of being shattered. A horrible thing... and yet, so common, so, so common.

Want proof. Ask someone why they don't bother attending Church.

2 comments:

Mike Baker said...

Oh yeah... that's wretched.

Where does "apathy" rank, though? In my own experience, it's easier to break through the hard defenses of self-righteousness with a little truth and plain reason.

...I find it really hard to get people to care when they have desensitized themselves to anything that has any depth to it.

Rev. Eric J Brown said...

It's hard to rank, so I won't. But I will give an observation.

Apathy is just a form of self-love. Rarely is it a total apathy where you care for nothing - normally it is just a disdain of your neighbor, or the vocations in which you serve the neighbor.