Self-Righteousness

“Law alone is no defence against self-righteousness. Indeed law alone can lead to self-righteousness, for it can convince those who study it that the law is on their side. It may be on their side, but what the law, in and of itself, cannot teach us is that the other person is also a human being, with feelings that can be injured and with merits that may not be apparent to those who view humanity in black-and-while terms, dividing it, as did the Second Temple sectarians, into the “children of light” and the “children of darkness.” Narrative teaches us the complexity of the moral life and the light-and-shade to be found in any human personality. Without this, self-righteousness can destroy the very perceptions and nuances, the tolerance and generosity of spirit on which society depends.”

Covenant and Conversation: Deuteronomy, pp. 336-337