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By: Michael Tao
Ecclesiastes 7:16 ,"Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?"
Sometimes there are teachings in the Bible that really challenge our thinking, and make us draw close to God to ask for wisdom. The above verse is one good example. It obviously tells us that people can be over righteous, and over wise; and this can lead them into destruction. We have no problem in understanding that we should live a holy life according to the Bible, but what is over righteous? We have difficulty in living a clean life already, how can we be over righteous?
This verse, I believe, warns us not to justify, or rationalize our sin. People should confess their sin once convicted by the Holy Spirit, and not to justify their sin. There are a few examples in the Bible that show us sin justification, or over righteousness, can lead to destruction.
Adam justified his sin of rebelling against God by saying to God, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat" (Genesis 3:12). Basically, what Adam meant was,"God, you see, it was not really my fault, it was the fault of the woman, and it was even your fault - because you gave her to me; as for myself - I am innocent." His unrepentance brought the whole mankind into destruction.
King Saul did not utterly destroy the Amalekites and their properties as commanded by God. He spared the life of Agag, King of the Amalekities, and kept the best of the sheep etc. When Samuel refuted him, Saul justified his sin by saying, "they have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed" ( 1 Samuel 15:15). Saul covered up his greed with a seemingly righteous reason. However from then on, his nation slid downward (v27).
Pharisees justified their sin of not taking care of their parents by telling their parents the money that was meant for them had been given to God (Matthew 15:5), then they could ignore their duties of honoring their parents. This is pathetic and hypocritical, and Christ rebuked them.
These are some examples that we can have a glimpse of what over righteousness is. On the other hand, David was definitely not the holiest character in the Bible, however he was honest with his moral problem, and he did not cover up his sin. It is also one of the reasons that he was called "a man after God's own heart". The repenting spirit of King David is something that we should strive to develop.
