Do you consider yourself righteous? Pondering righteousness: There is no “ME” in righteous, but there is an “US” in the word; RighteoUS! Jesus died for US! Not just for you or me … but for us! We are the beloved. We are the family of God, His sons and daughters. When we are always trying to tell others how RIGHT we are, in ourselves, it makes us SELF-righteous. It certainly doesn’t take becoming a Christian to make one feel right, or be self-righteous. Anyone can be self-righteous. But when a person, who is supposed to be a Christian, is all about self and being right, this person appears no longer the righteousness of Christ Jesus, as intended when He pardoned sin by his death and resurrection! The supposed Christian, instead, makes himself a judge. The self-righteous Christian applies the label “Christian” to all he or she does! This is hypocrisy in blatant form! Many a Christian takes offense to hear and see so many others wear the label of Christian with such indignity to Jesus’ name. Are we not to accept, in humility, our own responsibility? Sin is ever before a believer! A believer’s guilt is worn as awareness of a great sacrifice made, by walking in humility for what Christ has pardoned Us from! Many, believers and unbelievers alike, are offended by Christians who get on public media judging and insulting certain groups of persons. I ask you, Christian, to look at the man who you call yourself to be when you wear the name CHRISTian, which means “Christ-like.” When Jesus was presented the adulteress woman, did he slander her for her obvious sin and evil behavior? The judges and rulers who brought the sinful woman to Jesus attention were the religious leaders of the day. But a look more closely at this scripture reveals that it was the religious who were the only ones Jesus considered evil on that day, for they were the ones who brought her to him, hoping he’d condemn her. He told them, “He that is without sin among you let him cast the first stone,” John 8:7. The religious actually felt conviction for their actions! Now what, might one ask, did Jesus do to the adulteress. Well, first of all he defended her to the religious people, by shaming them for exposing her! He then told her that he did not condemn her, told her to sin no more, and sent her on her way. Wow! That is a far cry from what we Christians, Christ-like people, are thought of doing today! One version of the word Christian stated that Christian meant kind and unselfish (Encarta). A challenge to examine self to see if as a Christian you first judge or first walk in forgiveness, as did Christ? Jesus said, “Judge not and you will not be judged. Condemn not and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven,” Luke 6:37.