Wandering Crusader #275 Holier Than Thou

“Holier than thou”, have you ever used the phrase to describe another person’s attitude? And you

use such language when you don’t even own a King James Version because it’s too hard to understand?

Okay, seriously now. It’s a popular phrase, and I would dare say it is most used by people who give no real thought to its implications. For most people, it’s a put-down and nothing more. It’s a way of saying a person’s faith is all for show. It is also a way of expressing “I’m good enough just as I am”. Which may or may not be the truth. It is also a way of saying holiness is all relative. And there’s the rub.

When we think of holiness as being in the eye of the beholder, we admit to the existence of degrees of holiness. I don’t disagree with that. I just wonder if we understand that degrees require a standard by which things are measured. If I am truly holier than thou or thou holier than me, there must be an absolute holiness we are using as a standard measure to see who comes closest.

There is such a measure. I submit that both parties have that measure in mind when they use the phrase. That measure is God. The sad part is that God doesn’t use Himself as the measure. He is not looking at us and calculating how close we are to perfection. It’s a given that all have come short of His glory. Because that is so, God gives us His holiness as a free gift.

The thing about gifts is that, while they may be freely given, they do not become ours unless, and until, we receive them. The holiness of God is given to us in the person of Jesus Christ. There is no true holiness apart from Christ.

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

If a person has received Christ, and you have not, they are indeed and in truth, holier than thou. The disparity is easily remedied, however. Receive Jesus Christ and, by grace, holiness is imparted to you. You will still have to learn how to live it, but it’s yours, and nobody can take it from you or have more than you.

Worried that people at church look with askance at your tattoos, clothes, or hair? Get even, receive Jesus Christ as your savior, then walk right up and shake their hand.

Maranatha