““A life predicated on good works always has its dangers. The pursuit of righteousness is separated from hypocrisy and pharisaism by only a hair's width. Ritual displays, checked boxes, and achieved goals, however worthy, can easily obscure "the weightier matters of the law, judgement, mercy, and faith" (Matthew 23:23). Because we live in a community and often know our neighbor's foibles and perhaps even their sins, their white shirts can easily appear as "whited sepulchers" (Matthew 23:27. Patience and forgiveness thus become two of the house of faith's load-bearing walls.””
