12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. ³ Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. ⁴ After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

Hebrews 12:1-4

Dear God, the part of this passage that struck me this morning was verse three: “Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people.” The irony is, those people didn’t think of themselves as sinful. They thought they were right. They thought they were in the middle of your will. They couldn’t see their legalism that actually led to lower standards not higher. What I mean by that is going back to the sermon on the mount when Jesus was saying, “You have heard it said…but I say…” He actually wanted more from them when they were thinking he was a heretic who wanted less.

So where is my sin? When I am hostile towards others who I think are wrong about something, is my sin getting in the way of seeing things clearly? Is my self-righteousness causing pain and suffering for others? Should we all be asking ourselves this question more?

Father, maybe the first thing I need to recognize in myself is hostility and start looking for my sin there. Where am I hostile? What sin might be driving it? Help me to think about that throughout this day and into the future. Holy Spirit, poke me when it comes up and remind me to look for my own sin when I need to. Obviously, it’s not a sin to be angry. There can be very appropriate times to be angry. But I want to be angry when you need me to be, not when I want to be. Help me to find that line and recognize the difference when it is happening.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen