Monday Morning Insight: the Pharisees Among Us

Do you know any modern day Pharisees? You might. Consider this quote to start the week, from A.W. Tozer:

A Pharisee is hard on others and easy on himself, but a spiritual man is easy on others and hard on himself.

If you’re unaware of the reference, the Pharisees were a branch of Judaism — a political faction, if you will — that emphasized purity and strict adherence to the Torah (the Law). If you’re uncomfortable with the language of religion, we could conceivably use “hypocrite” in place of “Pharisee” in the quote, but for me “Pharisee” carries a stronger meaning. A hypocrite claims to have a high standard but does not live up to it, but need not insist that everyone else hold to that high standard; many of us are hypocrites about something or other. But when the message is “do as I say, not as I do” — when we give ourselves a pass but insist on better behavior from others — then we have shaded into the realm of the Pharisee.

I also think the idea in the quote extends beyond the realm of religion. For instance, we could replace the word “spiritual” in the quote with “enlightened” and arrive at much the same place.

When we insist on a standard for others that we would be hard pressed to meet, rather than holding ourselves to a standard even when no one else is watching, then we are being Pharisaical. And we can be Pharisees in many different ways. In matters of health, for instance, when we insist that we know best how other people should eat or behave or interact with their physicians but we allow ourselves small indulgences — or maybe large indulgences. In matters of civics, when we insist that we know best how other people should educate themselves or vote or act — or when we insist that they must change their opinions about how we think or act.

(Image: “Mirror,” by Gary Lund, on Flickr under Creative Commons.)

It is Pharisaical to insist on tolerance but to act intolerantly — to say without saying, “You must accept me and what I do, but I will not accept you or what you do.” It is Pharisaical to remain willfully blind to demonstrable facts and clear logic and to silence or censure those who present facts that cast our reality in different light — to say, “You must change the way you think; I will not.” It is Pharisaical to view with crystal clarity the errors, lies, crimes, sins, and endless peccadillos of others, but to overlook or blur the distinctions of our own.

That’s why I think the “Mirror” image is a good choice for this idea. The Pharisee in us — and I include myself among those who can be Pharisaical — may see ourselves differently than others see us. Perhaps it’s even worse than a lack of focus when we look at ourselves: perhaps we have painted on the mirror a false image, and have looked at it so long that we believe it’s real. But those who observe us know better.

So, do you think you know any modern day Pharisees? You can probably identify one or two. And you might even be one, in some way about some thing. I have that tendency myself, and I struggle against it every day.

Thank you, as always, for spending a few moments with me here. I wish you the best in your struggles, whatever they may be.

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