Read Matthew 18:21-35

Be honest: whose sin bothers you more—your’s or someone else’s? And whose repentance are you more eager for: your’s or the person who is causing problems and drama in your life? As much as we hate to admit it, we all spend too much time focusing on the sins and flaws of someone else’s more than our own. This is a spiritual condition, and it has a name: self-righteousness.

Pastor and author Paul Tripp states, “self-righteousness means you don’t see yourself or the other person with accuracy.” Self-righteousness makes us quick to view others and their flaws with judgment and condemnation, but quick to view ourselves and our own flaws with grace and patience. This is precisely why Jesus says in Matthew 7:3, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

Yet, the beauty of the gospel is that though we may lack grace with one another, Jesus never runs out of grace with us. In all the ways that you and I are blind to our own self-righteousness, Jesus prays this prayer for us: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). And the more that you recognize how your own sin looks to a holy God, and the more that you see the grace and forgiveness He offers you through His son, the more your life will naturally be marked by grace rather than self-righteousness. Spend time confessing your sins to God, and consider how you might start showing some of the grace and forgiveness God has shown you to someone who has sinned against you.