Holier Than Thou

I hear her first. I think everyone hears her, even if they’re seated too far away to see her arm flail sporadically from side to side. Her loud ’Amens’ and grated clapping sear through Mark Finley’s steady sermon at what seem to be the most inopportune moments. I cringe a little. The long red sleeve of her suit coat looks like a beacon of disaster as she thrusts her arm heavenward. She’s the type who makes conservative Adventists squirm in their seats as they clutch for their Bibles, sure it is their duty to quote a verse or two to silence her irreverence. But here she is . . . near the front of the Sabbath church service at the 2010 ASI Convention. The sermon is amazing. We follow Finley through Matthew 25 and the story of the 10 virgins. He starts calmly, but as time ticks, he builds to a soul searching crescendo. I grab a donation envelope and scribble down a few notes, including a quote, There’s a difference between having the Word of God in your hand to DEFEND the truth and having it in your heart to LIVE the truth.

Powerful.

Why is it that we often find ourselves critical of others, certain it is our appointed duty to point out their flaws to them, or worse, to others? Instead of saturating our hearts and insides with Gods truth, we clothe our outsides with the appearance of truth. We are like sheep in wolves clothing. I find myself looking around with a snide smirk as the woman continues to voice her convictions. Even the camera person throws occasional mocking smiles toward his associates.

The sermon draws to a close and we kneel to pray. And then I hear her again. She’s loudly sobbing, gasping out Oh dear Lord, over and over again. I try to mentally drown her out and focus on the prayer, yet her passionate pleas coat my ears. I’m exasperated for a few more moments, and then I let it all sink in. I feel like the pompous Pharisee in Luke 18 who looks down on the tax collector and his simple prayer.

I need truth in my heart. She’s crying out for it, yearning for it, and she doesn’t care who sees or hears. May we follow her example.