Hypocrisy and self-righteousness are two of the biggest enemies of faith. Why? Mostly because they put an insurmountable obstacle between us and God - ourselves! The constant impediment to our engagement with God and allowing God to lead us deeper into the mystery of God’s love of us is the focus on ourselves, our needs, the priority of our issues. That self-focus leads to self-absorption and away from God and towards just what Jesus laments in the behavior of the Pharisee.