Holier Than Thou: When Faith Becomes Toxic

First Chapter

Holier Than Thou

Abingdon Press

Chapter One

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)

Guess Who Grandma Loves the Most?

When we were young, my brothers and I had a game we loved to play.

It was called "Guess who Grandma loves the most?"

The game usually began when we were drawing pictures. All three boys took great care in drawing some random picture. We were typical boys, so we drew a lot of cars, planes, and motorcycles. The secret was, we never signed our names to our pictures. We laid them out on the table and summoned our grandmother. We called her "Mormor," which means "mother's mother."

"Mormor," we asked eagerly, "which picture do you like the best?"

Our grandmother was much too wise to fall for such a trick, and she smiled and said, "I love all of them the same."

"No!" we insisted. "Which one do you love more than the other two?"

"I love all three drawings," she stated firmly, "and I love all three of my grandsons."

In our little world, this competition was incessant, repetitive, and essential. We just knew that if she would give an honest answer, we would discover who was the favorite. Since we were equally pathetic artists, we hoped that she would pick the picture based purely on maternal grounds.

What made this rivalry even more poignant was that, in my heart of hearts, I knew that my grandmother loved my youngest brother, Emir, more. I was the oldest of the three brothers, which meant I was saddled with the brunt of the chores in the house. Erdem, the next in line, was always a meticulous boy. He kept his side of the room spotless and organized to the point of distraction. In retrospect, I think it was a disease of some sort. After all, how many ten-year-old boys keep their books and videos in alphabetical order on the shelves and indexed in a binder?

I was more of a free spirit. In our home, my eccentric ways were legendary. I thumb-tacked my clean clothes on the wall. Thus, I instantly knew which clothes were clean and which were dirty. My side of the room usually looked like an archaeological dig. Contrasted with my slovenly ways, the ways of Erdem the Obsessive-Compulsive earned major points.

Compared to Emir, however, Erdem and I might as well have been two homeless squatters living on the lawn. Since Emir was born last, Mormor played a larger part in raising him. Both of our parents were working; and as Erdem and I went off to school, Mormor and Emir spent countless hours together. They developed a bond that was unbreakable. I have often stated that if Emir and I were in a car wreck, I could be covered in blood and have bones protruding from my flesh, and Mormor would step over me to get to Emir, who would be unscathed.

When called upon to do chores, all Emir had to do was muster a feeble cough, and he was relieved of duty. By simply rubbing his head and moaning slightly, Emir could get out of anything. The workload fell onto my shoulders. As I shuffled out the door, I angrily saw Emir, standing behind Mormor, with a slight smile, waving and pointing. I wanted to stab him in the neck—such brotherly love.

This ongoing rivalry fed the comparison beast. We spent hours plotting against one another, attempting to earn her favor. The key point was, it was not enough for Mormor to love us unconditionally. She had to love us more than the others.

Toxic Christianity approaches God in precisely the same way. It is not enough that Christ loves us totally and completely. For the pharisee to be happy, God must love him or her more than God loves you. This form of competitive Christianity is a performance-based system, and it is soul-numbingly wearisome. It can drain you of your joy and rob you of your freedom in Christ. Christianity becomes a horrible reality show where you must scheme to get everyone else thrown off the island.

Jesus saw this coming right from the start.

The Hopes of Happiness: The Sermon on the Mount

The crowd gathered anxiously to see Jesus. The rumor was that Jesus had disappeared into the desert for more than a month. One man postulated that he had heard that Jesus was fighting the devil himself! In any regard, his long absence was over, and the people rejoiced to see him back in his environs.

Even today, the acoustics are amazing on the side of those steep hills around the Sea of Galilee. It was like being in a well-designed amphitheater, and all in attendance could hear the words of this prophet about whom they had heard so much. The crowd pressed in to see this gaunt man with the darkened skin. He was seated on the ground, on the upper part of the slope. His disciples sat in a semicircle around him. The starvation during his temptations took quite a toll on his body, and the forty-day sun deepened the color of his already olive skin.

Makairos, he began (in the Greek), "happy."

It seemed an odd choice for someone who obviously suffered a recent traumatic experience. Why would he begin with the word happy?

Nine times he repeated the word: makairos. Happy. Blessed. Content. Fulfilled.

Nine times he offered the conditions of this abiding peace he was offering:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:3-12)

Each "Blessed" seemed to invert common logic and thinking. The poor should be happy because the kingdom of heaven is theirs? When does that take place? The meek will overthrow brutal dictators? I am blessed when people insult me? I don't feel blessed. Jesus was certainly offering a new approach.

He continued speaking, comparing the believers to salt and light. They were compelled to actually come in contact with a desperate world, like salt applied as a preservative to meat. They were to let their light shine before all people, without fear of consequence (Matthew 5:13-16).

However, his tone changed when he introduced a new topic: the Law of God. His words are recorded in Matthew 5:17 and the following verses. For any devout Jew, Jesus was about to unleash his message with clarity.

What the Law Cannot Do (Matthew 5:17-37)

Jesus began by stating that his mission was to completely fulfill all the obligations of the Law. This sacred word came from God, in burning bushes not consumed, from mountaintops in the desert. Carried along with the vestments and precious materials this Law demanded, the Law symbolized their intimate connection to God. However, the Law—complete with festivals and feasts listed therein—actualized the covering of their sin. With wave offerings, grain offerings, doves, and sheep carried up the temple steps, the Law was a how-to guide for forgiveness from guilt and eternal death.

Perhaps the people believed that Jesus was coming to destroy the forms and functions of Judaism. Perhaps they wondered if he was bringing them a new way to God. Or perhaps Jesus just understood the fear in the hearts of his listeners. In the "Blessed" sermon, he had just told them that persecution was inevitable, and then in his salt-and-light teaching, he told them to confront this hostile world. He said that the Law would completely fulfill its purpose. The Law had a sacred purpose that would run its course.

Yet beginning in Matthew 5:19, Jesus began to logically place these laws in their context. If the Law is the measuring stick of righteousness, then will heaven be closest for those who followed most closely? Who among us, they must have wondered, is even close in following these edicts that are so numerous and specific? Jewish scholars such as Rambam have counted 613 major commandments. They delineate acts while asleep, when getting out of bed, methods of eating, commerce, and business, and every other arena of life. Does anyone have hope if the stick is 613 units high? I might as well give up now, since I believe I have broken four of them while typing this last sentence!

That was Jesus' point exactly. In Matthew 5:19, he stated that if you break the smallest and seemingly least consequential law, you will stand guilty before God and barely make it into heaven. No, Jesus continued, the only people who make it in will be those who completely follow the Law to the letter. Only those who follow perfectly will be called perfect.

Depressing, isn't it? I can go all day and not swear, or even yell at an innocent person; but if I swallow an accidental nut on Yom Kippur, I can end up a maid in someone else's mansion in Glory. Or perhaps there will be no eternal life for me at all.

Great Analogy; Bad Timing

Jesus' final sentence is most evocative, however. He stated, "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). Reread that sentence. Did Jesus mean that even the highest, most prominent religious rulers of their time would not be going to heaven?

That is exactly what he meant.

His precise wording left little to question. For the common man and woman to make it into heaven, they would have to go farther than the Pharisees and scribes. The Pharisees and scribes did not go far enough.

To further cement his position, Jesus cited specific examples of the Pharisees' mindless obedience. He used a great phrase to tie down his points again and again: "You have heard that it was said. ... But I tell you...." The chart on the following page might help: At every juncture, Jesus peeled back the façade of mechanical actions that many Jews had followed in their sleep and revealed a deeper purpose or understanding of those laws.

Toxic Misunderstanding: The Practice of the Law

Jesus' reinterpretation of Jewish law profoundly overturned centuries of schizophrenia. The Jewish leaders acted as they wished in private, but put on great airs when they were being observed. They acted one way at home and yet another way in the synagogue.

Does this sound like anyone you may know?

The Pharisees were the emblem of hypocrisy. They compartmentalized their spiritual life and their political life. They could happily act one way with friends, as long as they returned to their solemnity while at the synagogue. Twice Jesus reminded them that he would rather have obedience, which is an act of the heart, than sacrifice, which can be done without any thought at all.

From the very beginning, Christianity was designed to begin inside out. Once the heart is softened to God, then the acts will follow. But having the acts without the heart is like wearing a wedding ring only when it fits your purposes. The Pharisees wanted the pomp and circumstance of the religious life, but they misunderstood the devotion to the God who gave them those rules.

Toxic Misunderstanding: The Purpose of the Law

By using the strict Law against even the Pharisees, our Lord illustrated another problem with lockstep legalism. The Jews in Jesus' time believed that by following the laws, they were making themselves "good enough" for heaven. There is only one problem. What is the central key to understanding the nature of the Law? The Law was never designed by God to make anyone good. The Law can only restrain evil.

The Apostle Paul built on Jesus' premise in Galatians, when he called the Law a "tutor" that points us to the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Listen to Paul's vivid language: "Before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith" (Galatians 3:23-24 NASB).

Simple logic argues against anyone trying to make it into heaven by his or her own works. Here is a question that you can use to open a lively discussion in church, home, or school: If even one person could make it into heaven by following the Law, then does that not make Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and the resurrection unnecessary? If even one person, born with a sinful nature, is able to live an entire life without breaking any of the 613 laws in the Torah and Talmud, then Jesus wasted his time, and the rest of us are just lazy. That is why Paul also said, "If you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you" (Galatians 5:2 NASB). It is either Christ's shed blood or the Law.

Gold Medals at the Pharisee Olympics

Thus, by listening to Jesus' words here in the text, we stumble upon the first fundamental principle of fakes, frauds, and pharisees. They live by a slogan: I don't have to be superholy to make it. All I have to do is to be holier than you.

Now you can understand why pharisees are always jumping on your case (which is translated into "rebuking you" in Christianese, the language of churches).

They have to be constantly on the lookout for crimes and sins that they themselves do not commit. Then they must raise the decibel level tenfold in expressing their outrage. By pointing out your failure to everyone they know, they go up two steps at the pharisee Olympics, while you take a step backward.

The added bonus for this method of legalistic ballet is that it demands nothing of them! They now look holier just by standing next to you. It costs them nothing. But the final dividend for them is even more tragic. Each night, when they drift off to sleep, they can be comforted by the "fact" that now, since you are out of contention, they stand closer to God. And they can believe that God, indeed, loves them more.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Holier Than Thou by Ergun M. Caner Copyright © 2009 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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