1. You don't need to pray. In Luke, the disciples asked Jesus how to pray. However, it's great that you have life well under control and don't need much of God's assistance.
2. You don't need to go to church. The rest of the Body of Christ drags you down from your spiritual high. After all, you have missionary work to do at the ski slope. Next week, it is the yard work ministry.
3. You always know more than the Pastor. Every Sunday is an opportunity to critique the delivery, message, and dress of your local servant of God. A career on American Idol as a judge is sure to come your way soon.
4. Certain parts of the Bible just aren't for you. Because of your outstanding negotiation skills, you have made a special deal with God. Parts of the Bible have been ruled "not applicable" to your life.
5. You have the 67th Book of the Bible at home on your laptop. Included in it are all the solutions to the World's problems. If only God would get it in gear and have some knucklehead publisher agree with you...
If one of the above five reasons has caused you to chuckle at yourself good, I have not wasted my time. I confess that I have been guilty of most all of them at one point in my life. My hope is that you really are better than the rest of us.
I have lately seen the words pride and legalist bandied about quiet a bit. Most of the time, it appears the victims of these words are those people who are passionate, sometimes overly so, about certain positive aspects of the Christian life. I think pride can sometimes be a little bit more sneaky. It comes when we are tricked into believing special rules apply just to us. In James, we are reminded to work out our salvation with "fear and trembling." But often our own pride can blind us into complacency. Your thoughts?
