Beyond self-justification

I felt compelled to purchase the pair of shoes because they were on sale and went beautifully with the dress I had purchased the previous week. On the highway I felt compelled to speed up because the vehicles behind me were signaling that I should increase my speed by their rapid progress. I ate the last cake to make room in the fridge - a necessity that seemed entirely reasonable to me. We start telling little white lies in our childhood and continue doing so in adulthood.

We often use these little white lies out of fear of hurting the feelings of those around us. They come into play when we perform actions that we know deep down we shouldn't do. These are the actions that make us feel guilty, but we often don't feel guilty because we are convinced that we have good reasons for our actions. We see a necessity that leads us to take certain actions that seem essential to us at that moment and that apparently do no harm to anyone. This phenomenon is called self-justification, a behavior that many of us engage in without consciously realizing it. It can become a habit, a mindset that prevents us from taking responsibility for our actions. Personally, I often find myself justifying myself when I have thoughtlessly made critical or unfriendly comments. The tongue is difficult to control and I try to assuage my feelings of guilt through justifications.

Our justifications serve several purposes: They can promote feelings of superiority, minimize our feelings of guilt, reinforce our belief that we are right, and provide us with a sense of security that we will not have to fear negative consequences.

This self-justification does not make us innocent. It is deceptive and leads to the assumption that we can commit wrongdoings with impunity. However, there is a kind of justification that truly makes us innocent: “But to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith will be credited as righteousness.” (Röm 4,5).

If we are justified by faith alone, God absolves us of guilt and makes us pleasing in his sight: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph 2,8-9).

Divine justification is fundamentally different from human self-justification, which attempts to excuse our sinful behavior with supposedly good reasons. We receive true justification only through Jesus Christ. It does not represent our own righteousness, but is a righteousness that comes to us through Jesus' sacrifice. Those who are justified by living faith in Christ no longer feel the need to justify themselves. True faith inevitably leads to works of obedience. When we obey Jesus our Lord, we will understand our motives and take responsibility. Real justification does not provide an illusion of protection, but real security. Being righteous in God's eyes is infinitely more valuable than being righteous in our own eyes. And that is truly a desirable state.

by Tammy Tkach

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