pharisees

Kurt Gebhards writes on raising pharisees in Pulpit Magazine. He rightly notes children raised within the church are more susceptible to becoming a pharisee rather than becoming outright rebellious. He makes this short list of characteristics a teen might manifest if this spirit is left unchecked as he grows.

• This teen prefers well-defined, black and white rules, for they give him a sense of certainty that God must surely reward those achievements (Lk. 18:12).
• He adds a layer of rules to the Word of God (like not watching any movies, not listening to popular music, et cetera), giving the impression that he holds to a higher standard than Holy Scripture (Mt. 23:4).
• He tends to propose personal preferences as, or elevate them above, divine imperatives (Mt. 15:2-3).
• He pursues perfectionism (Phil. 3:6), not excellence (Phil. 3:12-14).
• He separates himself from others he considers of lesser cultural morality – people whose table manners, courtesy of speech, and refinement of mannerisms do not match middle-class norms (Lk. 15:1-2).
• He is judgmental – he excels at fault-finding, he loves to pick verbal fights – and the standard by which he condemns others is not primarily biblical, but personal, preferential, or traditional (Mt. 7:5). He fights against many people, against many issues, but he does not know who he is fighting for.

Great article and good list - one could easily substitute blogger/writer/preacher for teen ... I have a certain group in mind but please, no name calling here ...

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