Patience Isn’t Permission

Some people are quick to criticize. They love to take shots at everyone. Whatever is going on, they have something critical to say.

This can be an indication of a self-righteous person, the kind of person the apostle Paul spoke of in Romans 2: “You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things” (verse 1 NLT).

Self-righteous people are blind to their own condition. They see it everywhere except in their own lives. And they don’t understand how bad their sin really is.

Have you ever noticed that an outfit on a mannequin never looks quite as good on you? In the same way, our sin always looks worse on someone else. The reason we recognize it so quickly is because it’s our sin. We’re very familiar with it.

We’re so quick to call other people out, but we don’t realize how bad our sin actually is.

Self-righteous people think that God is somehow okay with their sin. They probably would never say that openly, but they think it, because they keep doing it. They don’t expect to ever have to pay for it.

Yet Paul said, “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” (Romans 2:4 NLT).

God is not okay with our sin. If nothing has happened yet, it’s because He loves us and is telling us to repent. If we don’t repent, then it will catch up with us at some point. We can be sure that our sin will find us out.