Too good to be true?

You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin

Psalm 85:2

Jesus tells a parable about a servant who is forgiven a great debt, then turns around and punishes someone who owes him much less. How hard it can be to admit how much we need to be forgiven, and how easy it is to see all that others are doing wrong.

Lent is a time when we are to pay attention to our spiritual life by time in prayer, reading of scripture, attending worship, maybe even confessing to our sins. While this is a valid and valuable way to move us along the path toward righteousness, the temptation is to detour at self-righteousness.

Someone once said that self-righteousness is one of the greatest impediments to intimate relationships. It can impede our relationship with other people, with God and maybe even with ourselves. Other people will fail to live up to our high standards for them. The self-righteous person sees little need for a relationship with God. And self-righteousness is an effective shield in keeping us from seeing our need for forgiveness.

As we end our Lenten disciplines, may we see how much we need God's forgiveness and may we ask to be forgiven the sin of self-righteousness.