The Bible says that our righteousness is like filthy rags and I know that sounds scary. But I have good news for you because the righteousness discussed in this verse is referring to self-righteousness and not true righteousness.
Self-righteousness is living right based on your standard.
When something is compared to a rag, that thing is bad and shameful.
This means self-righteousness is not something you should embrace or practice.
A lot of people practice self-righteousness because that is the way they feel they can live right and they do not know about true righteousness that comes from God.
Why is self-righteousness as a filthy rag
I believe the righteousness that comes from the self is like a rag because the flesh is naturally sinful.
You will notice that everyone tends to think evil thoughts.
You might not know this because you do not see people’s minds and people do not say what is in their thought.
For every crime you see committed by someone, it all started from the thought process.
So if the thought process is faulty already, your self-righteousness will be faulty also.
How to Overcome self-righteousness
Here are some tips you can practice that will help you overcome self-righteousness
Believe in Jesus
The first step to living a righteous life is by believing in Jesus. Believe that Jesus is the source of your righteousness and not your strength.
If you do not believe in Jesus before then today is the right time to accept Him and believe in Him.
You should believe in Jesus Christ because the Bible says that is the only true access to God.
The name of Jesus is the most influential name on earth today which was stated in the Bible that God gave Jesus a name above every name that at the mention of His name, every kneel shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ us Lord.
This goes to show you that the Bible is correct. All you have to do to accept Jesus is by confessing these words Dear Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and saviour. I ask that you come into my life and transform my life according to your will. Amen
Read the word of God
Reading the word of God is important because it shows you the secret to living a righteous life. I’ve noticed that most people do not read their Bibles.
It is not as if they plan not to do so but they get carried away with other affairs of life. You see some people reading the word of God and they sleep off within 3 minutes into reading the word.
But when you wake them up to watch a movie, they get revived to watch the movie. I’m saying this to show you that your flesh dies not to like it when you read the Bible because it weakens the power of your flesh over you.
Study the word of God
In addition to reading the word of God, you also need to study the word of God. Studying the word of God means that you think about it after reading it.
If you read your Bible without remembering what it says, you are like a man who looks at himself in the mirror and as he turns away, he immediately forgets what he looks like.
You also need to listen to other people when they are discussing the word of God so that you can get more understanding of the word of God You should only listen to those who speak based on what is in the Bible
Practice the word of God
The proof that you believe in Jesus is by practising what He says in His word. You cannot say you believe in Jesus and you declare only with your mouth but your actions show otherwise.
For instance, you see people praising God with their mouths and they use that same moth to curse other people. If you do that, you are not practising the word of God because God has commanded us to love our neighbours.
We are not to curse anyone ( family, friends and neighbours) But our mouths should be used to praise God and declare good words to others
Conclusion
If you have been practising self-righteousness before, it is time to start practising true righteousness according to God’s standards.
Practising true righteousness is much not stressful when compared to self-righteousness.
Righteousness when done based on the word and the spirit of God will achieve great and tremendous results.