Sister Bertha better-than-you

“All the way down to the amen pew
where sat Sister Bertha better-than-you”

Yes, that's right. The words you read above are from a Ray Stevens song titled “Mississippi Squirrel Revival.” And we've all met “Sister Bertha better-than-you.” It is the person with the “holier than thou” attitude. The person who enjoys condemning others without fixing her own errors. The person who teaches others not to convert them to Christ, but to display what a good and knowledgeable person he/she is.

Christ himself encountered Sister Bertha better-than-you, in the form of the Pharisees.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence."You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. "Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Matthew 23:23-28

You see, one of the things that identifies a Sister Bertha is she does not correct her own errors and sins. She puts on a public show of holiness, yet like the Pharisees, she is a whitewashed tomb. This is not to say that as Christians we cannot approach others about their sin. We know that the apostle Paul had to approach the apostle Peter, because Peter was walking erroneously.
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
Galatians 2:11-12

We must be sure we are doing so for the right reasons, though. We must do it out of love and the desire to help others take hold of, and maintain, eternal life Paul writes to Timothy in II Timothy 2:25-26:
with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

The difference between Sister Bertha better-than-you, and those who actually follow God's word is a simple one. Sister Bertha teaches and talks and confronts in her pride, to convince others that she is more holy. Instead, let us approach others meekly, with love in our hearts. Let us be less concerned with our outward appearance, and more with our inward man. Let us put off our pride which causes this, and follow humbly in the footsteps of the Messiah. Are you a Sister Bertha-better-than-you?