Relevant Life

Self-justification is described by the Merriam Dictionary as the act or an instance of making excuses for oneself. More than ever, we see this type of behavior happening in our world today. Many self-justify their actions in order to fit the narrative that is being heralded or preached. We rarely see one’s ownership of wrong actions; however, we see many making excuses and blaming others.
This behavior has been around for a long time. The story about the Good Samaritan demonstrates this truth.

Luk 10:25  Then an expert in Moses’ Teachings stood up to test Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Luk 10:26  Jesus answered him, “What is written in Moses’ Teachings? What do you read there?”

Luk 10:27  He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.’ And ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’”

Luk 10:28  Jesus told him, “You’re right! Do this, and life will be yours.”

Luk 10:29  But the man wanted to justify his question. So he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

Luk 10:30  Jesus replied, “A man went from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way robbers stripped him, beat him, and left him for dead.

Luk 10:31  “By chance, a priest was traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he went around him and continued on his way.

Luk 10:32  Then a Levite came to that place. When he saw the man, he, too, went around him and continued on his way.

Luk 10:33  “But a Samaritan, as he was traveling along, came across the man. When the Samaritan saw him, he felt sorry for the man,

Luk 10:34  went to him, and cleaned and bandaged his wounds. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Luk 10:35  The next day the Samaritan took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than that, I’ll pay you on my return trip.’

Luk 10:36  “Of these three men, who do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”

Luk 10:37  The expert said, “The one who was kind enough to help him.” Jesus told him, “Go and imitate his example!”
This Jewish Scholar asked Jesus a question with personal intent. He wanted to trap Jesus in a scholarly fallacy in the hopes of shattering his influence on the masses. He self-justified his actions by thinking that he was doing what God wanted him to do. Sometimes people justify their evil actions in the name of God or a god. Religion is the creator of self-justification. Just look at the history of Religion. It justified the killing of believers he sought to translate the bible in English. What about the Puritans who justified killing many people who were not witches but innocent Christians who dared to disagree with the Puritan leaders. 
Jesus showed through this Parable how religiousness and relativism cause people to never take ownership of their actions. The Samaritan selfishly decided to help the abused man. He took care of a stranger as if it was one of his own family members.
Self-Justification and Self-righteous living equate selfishness. Today our society is producing thousands of narcissists. It is this mentality we are seeing and hurting others around the world. When Stalin promoted his Marxist regime, he convinces his people that it is justified to kill millions of innocent Russians. Self-Justification or Relativism allows the follower to do evil things and call them good.
What can we do as we see this idealogy growing in the population today? Unfortunately, much of this thought process is in the Body of Christ as well. It is important that we remove this idealogy out of our own house first. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan to religious people and to his followers. He wanted to reveal the arrogance of the religious and teach his followers on how to live life.
Things we can do as Christians against Self-Justification.
1. Love the Lord YOUR God with all your being.2. Love others with the same love you have for the Lord. 3. Don’t allow self-righteous control over your life.4. Never see yourself as a victim. Victimism creates self-justification of evil actions. 5. See a stranger as Jesus sees them. Treat them like a family member whether they reciprocate or not. 6. Never forget the importance of holy compassion that can only come through a relationship with Jesus.
Christians can lead the way in preventing the growth of self-justification. We must stand tall and we must show the way.