Am I a Pharisee?
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.3.16.nlt
When John says 'the world', he also meant the Pharisees. Yes, Jesus loved them too and He would accept them if they would repent of their sins and choose to follow Him faithfully. But they didn't. So Jesus chose to be straightforward with them.
Who are the Pharisees today?
They are the ones who read the word, but don't understand it; ones who know the word, but their lives aren't attuned to it. They are Christians who claim to have a profound knowledge of the word and yet they lack wisdom. They brag about their deeds yet are spiritually empty vessels. They live a life built on the foundation of their own lives. They deliberately use provocative language and look down upon others.
-They mislead the others.
““Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Matthew 16:6, 12 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.16.6,12.nlt
-They are vicious.
"But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!”...."
Matthew 3:7 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.3.7.nlt
How do we deal with them?
With love. Love means nothing without actions. And our action of live towards them can be to pray for them. The Holy Spirit will give us the discernment to recognise such people. He will put the right words into our mouths when we need to be straightforward. He will give us the wisdom to understand when we need to be silent and the strength to do the same. Humility is the key.
“He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way.”
Psalms 25:9 NLT
http://bible.com/116/psa.25.9.nlt
But being humble doesn't require you to be a door mat. Jesus was the perfect example of serving in humility. He sat with the sinners and He washed the feet of His disciples. He asked God to forgive those who chose to crucify Him. Yet, throughout the Gospels, you'll find Him being straightforward with the Pharisees.
We don't need to ask God to punish such people who hurt us. We need to pray to God to forgive them. We need to forgive them and let them go. Finally, we are not accountable for the lives they live. We are accountable for the way we live. We need to prepare ourselves for the greater day in such a way, that we will be able to answer our Father for our doings. We need to reflect upon our own actions and avoid being a Pharisee.