“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You people have behaved worse than your neighbours and have refused to obey my decrees and regulations. You have not even lived up to the standards of the nations around you.

Therefore, I myself, the Sovereign Lord, am now your enemy. I will punish you publicly while all the nations watch. Because of your detestable idols, I will punish you like I have never punished anyone before or ever will again.”

~ Ezekiel 5.7-9 NLT

The behaviours of the Israelites in Ezekiel’s time is analogous to the Pharisees’ in Jesus’ time. They thought they are okay with God, but God disagreed. Worse than that, God took them as enemies.

I must be careful that I stay humble and seek God’s counsel in everything. That I may not consider myself good because of what I do; that I may not consider myself worthy because of what I have accomplished; that I may not consider myself holy because of what I did not do.

I do not want to be “worse than my neighbours” in the eyes of the Lord - who knows and evaluates thoughts and hearts, not just the words and actions.

“Detestable idols” are everywhere. I must be cautious and vigilant at all times.

See:
Not a competition (2)
Greed
My neighbour