Such superfluous efforts bring no special blessing or recognition from God. All such righteousnesses are as filthy garments before Him (Is. 64:6). They violated God's word by daring to impose their own laws onto His sacred code (Prov. 30:6). They often made void God's commands by their traditions, and in so doing, made their worship vain (Matt. 15:6,9).  In their excessive strictness they were seeking the recognition of their peers.   Such was their only reward, for God would not accept it (Matt. 6:5).

Some Modern Day Examples:  To avoid doing something wrong, some do nothing at all.  This was the mistake of the one-talent man (Matt. 25:25-30). This attitude has hobbled multitudes of churches and kept them from reaching out to evangelize the world for the Lord.  For fear of cooperation in a wrong way, many churches do not cooperate at all. Fearing they will use a sinful method, many make no attempt to minister to the unfortunate.

To avoid being "denominational," many have denied themselves valuable tools and methods in doing God's work that were harmless in themselves.  Some brethren refused to use the class method of teach Scripture because the sects used it. Other refused to used individual containers for communion. Still other refused to have gospel preachers to avoid the denominational pastor system. All of the above are authorized by generic authority in the New Testament. While it does not make one any less a Christian to deny himself their use, it does limit and hinder his degree of success in the lord's work. And in most cases, those who so thought, were not content just to deny themselves; they sought to bind their restraints upon others. This was and is clearly condemned (Jas. 4:11-12).

To avoid being "worldly," some would be more strict than God. While many movies are sensual and degrading, not all are that way. Yet some would forbid Christians to see even a decent family movie.  The same applies to television .  Wisdom suggests that we censor out the bad and enjoy the good.  In opposing mixed swimming in immodest apparel, some have concluded that all swimming was wrong. In their zeal against beverage alcohol and drug abuse, some would oppose the use of medicines that contain alcohol or pain controlling agents.  While opposing the immodesty of women wearing short-shorts, some have condemned them wearing pants.

Some brethren, seeing the dangers of false philosophy and intellectualism, have opposed advanced education altogether. Not only have they rejected it for themselves, they have questioned those who have pursued such even though their faith was untainted. The student of Proverbs knows that God puts no premium on ignorance. Paul was a highly educated man (Acts 22:3). A gospel preacher surely needs all of the knowledge he can get for his work.

In opposing some abuses among our people, some would reject an otherwise good activity or idea.  For example: reacting to some problems in our Christian schools, some would shut them down. They evidently have not considered what option this would leave for their children's education.  Some brethren saw the abuses of "the prayer partner" practice used by others.  In reaction to that abuse, they ended up opposing two Christians being partners in prayer. God forbid that we should ever discourage anyone from praying.  A similar reaction was seen to the "souls talks" that some young people practiced in days past.  It is one thing to oppose an abuse, it is altogether different to opposed Christians studying the Bible with each other or with non-Christians. We have been encouraging folks to do that for years. How can we consistently oppose it?

Some Principles to Remember:  If one wishes to limit himself in some non-essential area, he has that privilege. Paul did that (I Cor. 8:13). But he has no right to impose his restrictions on others (Rom. 14:2-4).

It is not necessary for me to be stricter than God has demanded.  It does not impress God and it doesn't help me. It might make my neighbors think I am foolish and thus hurt my influence on them. (How many take the Amish seriously?).

It is often the case that in being righteous over much, we sin, for our fears keep us from doing the things God has assigned us to do.  Thus as the one-talent man, we stand condemned as wicked and slothful servants (Matt. 25:14-30).