During a bike ride high in the mountains I came across the trunk of an oak tree lying beside the trail. The night before I had heard wind banging against our farmhouse’s metal roof as I lay in my bed. The tree must have given way to the wind, but why? Its trunk was so large that even lying on the ground it reached nearly to my waist, but somehow, it had come crashing down while all of its neighbors stood nearby with only a few broken branches.

I reached the end of the stump and quickly realized why the tree had fallen—it was rotten. What had seemed like a strong oak tree was instead a thin layer of living tissue underneath the thick bark with the rest of the tree serving as a home for ants, fungi, and any squirrels or raccoons that found an open knothole. The tree’s apparent size and strength was a façade.  

 Years, possibly even decades ago, a little water seeped through a crack in the bark. The water brought with it a few fungal spores that quickly began spreading their tendrils throughout the tree’s trunk, eating away at the sapwood that strengthened the tree and held it upright. Insects then found their way through the wound and multiplied in the dark interior of the tree, carving out hollows and passageways for their many young.

The trunk of the tree was a perfect home for its new residents, its rotting wood providing food and its thick bark providing a safe refuge from birds. As the tree gave of itself to host its invaders, it slowly weakened until it was a tottering giant being held upright only by a sliver of life under the bark.

Then the wind came. With no strength left, it took just a few strong gusts to bend the trunk until its vast bulk pulled itself down. The decay had been hidden, but now it was clear what had caused the formerly strong member of the forest to fall.

To many of the Jewish people during the time of Jesus, the religious leaders such as the scribes and Pharisees appeared to be the most righteous people in society. It was the scribes and Pharisees who prayed, fasted, and tithed more than anyone else. It was the scribes and Pharisees who knew the Holy Scriptures better than anyone else. Yet Jesus criticized the scribes and Pharisees more than anyone else. Why?

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Matthew 23:27, 28

Jesus spoke these woes unto to the scribes and Pharisees, not because they were sinners, but because they were hypocrites. They were giving the impression that they were righteous, but Jesus could see that inside they were full of rottenness, uncleanness, and iniquity. But it was not just that the scribes and Pharisees appeared to be more righteous, they also believed they were more righteous than others.

One day a Pharisee and a tax collector went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prayed, thanking God that he was a righteous person and even listing all the good things he had done. The tax collector simply beat his breast and acknowledged to God that he was a sinner who needed mercy. Jesus ended his parable with: “I tell you, this man (the tax collector) went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  (Luke 18:14)

When we have been raised in a good home and in a religious community, it is easy for us to begin thinking that we are superior to the unchurched multitude around us. We pray, read our Bibles, and go to church. That certainly means we are more righteous than our neighbor who drinks, smokes, and mows his yard on Sunday–doesn’t it? We would never say such a thing out loud, but do our hidden thoughts say otherwise? Do we thank God that we are not like the sinners around us? It is good to be thankful for the blessings of family and church that God has given us, but we must also be careful that thankfulness doesn’t turn into feelings of superiority. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23)

If we exalt ourselves, Jesus promises that we will be humbled. One day a secret sin, bitterness, or feeling of superiority will make its way into our hearts. If we let it fester, it will begin to spread and rot. If the rottenness is allowed to grow, we can become like the Pharisees, appearing outwardly to be righteous, but inwardly full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Then, a storm comes. With no strength of righteousness to stand against the winds of hardship, we will fall, revealing to everyone what we have been hiding for years or even decades. “For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.” (Mark 4:22 NKJV)

When you realize the sin you have let into your heart, cry out to God for mercy, confess your sins and acknowledge that you are a sinner. Jesus sought out sinners during His ministry, and He will answer your call and cleanse you.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10