Self Righteousness Quotes

“I am not perfect, but if I looked perfect to everyone I must have been rocking imperfect perfectly to a few imperfect souls that seek imperfection vs. perfection, in an imperfect world where God asks us to seek perfection for our imperfect souls.”
― Shannon L. Alder

“The emphasis and the reason for a pure humility is to result in love for others; not always necessarily the belittlement of self. When there is pride and self-righteousness and being pretentiously too far above, generally, one has a difficult time reaching the compassionate side of love for others, the side that understands (or at least attempts to understand): 'I am aware that I am not so far from falling in the same way.' Humility seeks to understand, and sometimes even relate; and in result, the love lovingly, properly, effectively wills the removal of the destructive sins of another as from oneself.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

“A guilty conscience can be very troublesome, I've heard.”
― Natalie Babbitt, The Eyes of the Amaryllis

“Clara shrugged and immediately knew her betrayal of Peter. In one easy movement she'd distanced herself from his bad behavior, even thought she herself was responsible for it. Just before everyone had arrived, she'd told Peter about her adventure with Gamache. Animated and excited she'd gabbled on about her box and the woods and the exhilarating climb up the ladder to the blind. But her wall of words hid from her a growing quietude. She failed to notice his silence, his distance, until it was too late and he'd retreated all the way to his icy island. She hated that place. From it he stood and stared, judged, and lobbed shards of sarcasm.

'You and your hero solve Jane's death?'

'I thought you'd be pleased,' she half lied. She actually hadn't thought at all, and if she had, she probably could have predicted his reaction. But since he was comfortably on his Inuk island, she'd retreat to hers, equipped with righteous indignation and warmed by moral certitude. She threw great logs of 'I'm right, you're an unfeeling bastard' onto the fire and felt secure and comforted.”
― Louise Penny, Still Life

“If there was a common thread between the great warriors and runaways of my Hulkinov ancestors, and my father the pathological expatriate, and me, it was just that: hotheaded self-righteousness. And not the bad kind, either. We actually were right. We just cared more about being right than doing what was right. And we cared more about being right than about our own lives.”
― Rebecca Makkai, The Borrower

“Far from putting doubts and anxieties to rest religion often has the effect of intensifying them. It judges those who profess the faith more harshly than it judges unbelievers. It holds them up to a standard of conduct so demanding that many of them inevitably fall short. It has no patience with those who make excuses for themselves--an art in which Americans have come to excel. If it is ultimately forgiving of human weakness and folly, it is not because it ignores them or attributes them exclusively to unbelievers. For those who take religion seriously, belief is a burden, not a self-righteous claim to some privileged moral status. Self-righteousness, indeed, may well be more prevalent among skeptics than among believers. The spiritual discipline against self-righteousness is the very essence of religion.”
― Christopher Lasch, The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy

“Religion always leads to rhetorical despotism," Leto said. "Before the Bene Gesserit, the Jesuits were the best at it."

"Jesuits, Lord?"

"Surely you've met them in your histories?"

"I'm not certain, Lord. When were they?"
"No matter. You learn enough about rhetorical despotism from a study of the Bene Gesserit. Of course, they do not begin by deluding themselves with it."

"It leads to self-fulfilling prophecy and justifications for all manner of obscenities," Leto said.

"This . . . rhetorical despotism, Lord?"

"Yes! It shields evil behind walls of self-righteousness which are proof against all arguments against the evil.”
― Frank Herbert, God Emperor of Dune

“I reckon it does take a powerful trust in the Lord to guard a fellow, though sometimes I think that Cora’s a mite over-cautious, like she was trying to crowd the other folks away and get in closer than anybody else.”
― William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying

“I don't like righteousness, I don't. To my ears, righteousness sounds like the chatter made by birds in cages when the birds of the skies fly by.”
― C. JoyBell C.

“People today refer to Judas Iscariot in a way as if he was betraying a wonderful, upstanding man in society. They forget that Judas was betraying a wanted criminal branded as a fraud by all of the synagogues in the land. Ask yourself, how many times have you denied another person to save your own skin and to appear upright? How many times have you been a Judas Iscariot?”
― C. JoyBell C.

“Gratitude, forgiveness, perseverance, self-honesty, and self-control fosters optimism, kindness, and success.

Self-righteousness yields bitterness, hostility, and self-destruction.”
― Charles F Glassman

“Gratitude, forgiveness, perseverance, self-honesty, and self-control fosters optimism, kindness, and growth. Self-righteousness yields bitterness, hostility, and sadness.”
― Charles F Glassman

“You may not always be able to identify an unhappy or meanspirited person. But, if you’re unsure, one character to look out for is self-righteousness.”
― Charles F. Glassman, Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life

“You may not always be able to identify a mean person. But, if you’re unsure, one character to look out for is self-righteousness.”
― Charles F. Glassman, Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life

“You may not always be able to identify an unkind person. But, if you’re unsure, one character to look out for is self-righteousness.”
― Charles F. Glassman, Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life

“I wasn't devoted to God. I was devoted to my devotion to God.”
― Lecrae Moore, I Am Restored: How I Lost My Religion but Found My Faith

“The righteous are rarely kind and the kind are rarely righteous.”
― C. JoyBell C.

“They shared elaborate fantasies about raping and murdering me, discussing the pros and cons of each. They talked about how to break into all of my accounts to try to find more ways to invade my privacy. They bragged about victories like flooding my game's page with hatred and nude photos of me and went so far as to create guides to share tactics on how best to ruin my life. They even orchestrated plans to donate to various charities specifically to make themselves look like concerned citizens and not a mob of people trying to get me killed. They build friendships and bonded with each other by reinforcing their dedication to the righteous cause of taking me down, reminding themselves at every turn but they were the good guys.”
― Zoe Quinn, Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate

“Dare to be the most charitable friend that one can know - therefore, care for the orphan and the poor and the widow - share everything through prayers from your heart to spare a soul, so that you barely do it for the credit or for show (hardly for rarity, too, although you reap what you sow). Through sincerity do what you trust; it scares many foes. Also, show no partiality: 'too unfair' must go. Plus know it's a slow, terrible thing to love just to boast; there's no scarcity of things true being cut in the throat: and blown up, such harsh realities roast us coast to coast (as though love's some dark noir since neither good nor bad may gloat (doesn't matter if you sacrifice your sun or a goat)). But regardless, much to the contrary, all seeds need growth; thus, deplorable, horrible or not, we'll bleed love's flow. More pouring out meaningful ways to keep the boat afloat; less rowing for it seems eternal days around a moat: because good deeds, clichés, these are what make the world still glow, placing smiles on its face while it toasts to our Lord of hosts. It's like grace is needed most when even one's been brought low, so dare to be the most charitable one you will know.”
― Criss Jami

“The law of God, clarified by Jesus throughout His ministry, together with the good news of God's mercy and salvation, will motivate people to open their hearts to Him or to harden their hearts. When a person exercises saving faith, given to him by the grace of God, he believes both the law which would condemn him and the gospel which saves him from that condemnation and gives him new life. When a person hardens his heart, he may believe enough of the law to feel threatened, but instead of accepting the death blow to self and the offer of new life in Jesus, he defends himself with self-justification (excuses), self-righteousness (developing his own moral character), and self-deception (avoidance of the truth through rationalizing or anesthetizing the mind with distractions or drugs).”
― Martin Bobgan, 12 Steps to Destruction: Codependecy/Recovery Heresies

“The Eye of Karma by Stewart Stafford

Do we still rationalise things we do?
Karma's cold, clear eye sees through,
Soiled laundry aired for the public to see,
A looking glass raised to gross misdeeds.

No compunction, an inflaming sick note,
Deaf to the plea bargains began by rote,
Facing peccadilloes that seek redress,
Damaging overflow of avarice and hubris.

Poison sucked from self-flagellation wounds,
The stinging venom disgorged and plumed,
A penalty passed with the gavel in hand,
Purge those failings with goodwill planned.

© Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved.”
― Stewart Stafford

“Wherever it is hard to forgive, remember how much He has forgiven you. And He delights to do it! Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is simply releasing a debt from your hands (which are inadequate to judge) into God’s. It’s saying, “God, here’s what was stolen from me. You saw it. You know all about it, including all I don’t know. I lay down every self-righteous weapon I possess and ask You to return to my heart what was stolen, however and wherever You see fit. It isn’t my debt anymore. My God will supply all of my needs. I release their heart to You.”
― Chuck Ammons, En(d)titlement: Trade a Culture of Shame for a Life Marked by Grace

“It is clear by many people’s resentment at God and others that many of us believe our status as a “good Christian” qualifies us to bypass the lines of misunderstandings, unanswered prayers, suffering, and waiting.”
― Chuck Ammons, En(d)titlement: Trade a Culture of Shame for a Life Marked by Grace

“One cannot despise Christians and love Christ at the same time. Too many are fooled into the self-righteous notion that those who stand boldly in the faith are nothing more than religious zealots and Pharisees, and that they themselves are closer to Jesus by communing with the mockers.”
― Criss Jami

“If we allow ourselves to perceive each other as enemies,
to be enemies,
and to behave as if we are,
there is no hope.

We have to have empathy.
We have to believe there is hope.”
― Shellen Lubin

“One of the things that I picked up... was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God. For me, at least, it got in the way. Seeing what religious people [do] in the name of God...”
― Bono

“To establish Peace, you need order, and to maintain order, you need Authority. Thus, if Authority doesn't lie with self-righteous men in a society, Peace cannot prevail.”
― Shaikh Mahmud bin Ilyas

“After all that time, I'd become self-righteous. Possibly the worst sin of all!”
― Steve Englehart, Doctor Strange (1974-1987) #12

“What I saw in Washington that October were a lot of Americans who were genuinely dismayed by what their country was doing in Vietnam; I also saw a lot of other Americans who were self-righteously attracted to a most childish notion of heroism--namely, their own. They thought that to force a confrontation with soldiers and policemen would not only elevate themselves to the status of heroes; this confrontation, they deluded themselves, would expose the corruption of the political and social system they loftily thought they opposed. These would be the same people who, in later years, would credit the antiwar "movement" with eventually getting the U.S. armed forces out of Vietnam. That was not what I saw. I saw that the righteousness of many of these demonstrators simply helped to harden the attitudes of those poor fools who *supported* the war. That is what makes what Ronald Reagan would say--two years later, in 1969--so ludicrous: that the Vietnam protests were "giving aid and comfort to the enemy." What I saw was that the protests did worse than that; they gave aid and comfort to the idiots who endorsed the war--they made that war last *longer*. That's what *I* saw. I took my missing finger home to New Hampshire, and let Hester get arrested in Washington by herself; she was not exactly alone--there were mass arrests that October.”
― John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany

“Most real-world villains do not really see themselves as villains, and they despise heroes generally because they do not recognize heroes. An evil man assumes that anyone willing to do the right thing is no less rotten on the inside than he, and that there is always some ulterior motive. He hates the righteous man not because he hates righteousness, but because he knows only how to project ill will.”
― Criss Jami