Holier-Than-Thou

Can my Holier than thou attitude affect my relationship with God? In Isiah 65:5 says this about our attitude toward others, “Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, Do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, and a fire that burns all day.”

According to this passage it is clear the God finds a Holier-than-thou attitude on our part offensive to him, likening it to breathing in smoke.

I enjoy camping and in most cases can put up with the bugs, but what I find tough to take is the smoke from the fire that seems to follow me. No matter where I place my chair near the fire, smoke will soon follow and I find my self choking on smoke. Move my chair to a new position and soon the smoke has followed again. It causes the eyes to burn, the throat to hurt and breathing to become difficult.

When we have an attitude, a holier-than-thou attitude it causes those around us to become uncomfortable. Their eyes will sting from the tears they are fighting back. The throat hurts from choking down the words they want to speak against us and don’t say. Their whole body is affected by our attitude.

Deuteronomy 8:2, 3 serves as a reminder on how God feels and responds to those who exhibit an attitude of superiority toward others. “And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. ³ So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word the proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.”

God will lead us and direct us and allow us to experience circumstances that will humble us so we no longer are offensive to others and God with our Holier-Than-thou attitude. God wants us not to rely on our own self but learn to lean on Christ for all our needs both spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

God tells us; “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he out to think, but to think soberly, as god has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).

This measure of faith has been given to each of us, and like the man who received the one talent, the lord expected him to put that talent to good use. This measure of faith given to us by our Heavenly Father has been given to us and he expects us to use it and by using it, our faith will increase and as our faith and understanding of God and His love for us increases, then there should be no more room for a Holier-than-thou attitude.

Let our prayer then be, “I thank you, Lord, that You have heard me, and has fulfilled your promise, your promise that you shall enlarge my heart so that I can honor all men and esteem others better than myself (Psalm 11:32; I Peter 2:17; Philippians 2:3).