Here’s a quick test:

Do you ever feel

anxious… frustrated… depressed… disappointed… impatient… angry… exasperated… defensive… lonely…?

Those negative feelings are not supposed to be “normal”. In fact the source of those feelings empowers all abusive behavior.

(This is why victims of abuse can become abusers themselves. Click here to learn more about generational abuse…)

Those feelings are evidence of a serious genetic condition endemic to the human race.

The condition is called self-righteousness. 

We don’t mean the arrogant, narcissistic, or religious Pharisaic kind of self-righteousness. (That kind is found in a smaller number of people.)

The self-righteousness we’re talking about—the kind causing feelings of anxiety, anger, fear—infects everyone.

It comes from inside the human mind. It originates from a universal lie. And everyone’s fallen human nature craves this kind of self-righteousness. 

Why is self-righteousness so bad?

Self-righteousness (self-rightness) comes from the oldest lie on earth. The lie can be summed up like this:

“I must make myself good… because I can’t or don’t want to be bad… and I don’t want bad things to happen to me”  

Here’s how it works:

Deep down you don’t want to be bad. This is your God-given conscience.

But the fallen genetic lie has programmed you to make you feel bad about yourself. Your fear of badness forces you to create your own self-goodness. So the only way to make yourself feel better about yourself is by making yourself seem superior to others.

This causes you to accuse, blame or dislike others subconsciously in your heart, so that (in your mind) they’ll seem worse than you feel about yourself.

The pre-programmed badness you feel about yourself causes you to judge others and blame others (even to the point of abuse) as the reason why you’re not good enough, safe enough, or happy enough.

This makes you self-protective, self-centered, self-seeking, and often times judgmental and unforgiving.

Can our fear of badness be stopped?

Whether it’s trying to be a good parent, or a good neighbor, or a good employee, or a good student, or a good kid…  you can’t escape the urge to be self-righteous.  

You can’t help being a self-made “good” person.

And when you realize you’re not measuring up (because of comparison, or criticism, or abuse, or need…), you can’t help but feel like you’re “bad”.

This only drives you further into the deception, and leads you into more and more selfish self-centered behaviors.

Our negative behaviors toward ourselves and others are a response to the internalized craving for self-righteousness.

Self-righteousness ultimately steals your God-intended unconditional love, godly identity and selfless nature.