This week's verses are Luke 18:9-14:
Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’ I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
These verses are, at the same time, a condemnation of self-righteous people and a warning about the split in our own souls.
The guy who was confidently self-righteous was spending his time in prayer exalting his virtues and meditating on the faults of others. He was proud of the things he'd done and full of contempt for those who had not achieved what he saw himself as having achieved. He's in God's temple to pray, but the person he's worshiping is himself.
The tax collector is a different story. He knows he's made mistakes and he is still making them. (Notice that it does not call him a former tax collector.) He is still defrauding, extorting, and betraying his own people to get ahead. He's trapped in sin and is probably wishing he could get out. He doesn't pretend he's anything other than what he is. So, all he can do is ask for mercy because he knows his actions have brought condemnation on him.
When most of us read these verses, we think to ourselves "Well, thank God I am a humble Christian who prays and not like some of these other people, like so and so." But that's exactly what Jesus tells us not to be like!
In reality we are like the pharisee and the tax collector at the same time. Part of us satisfies itself, thinking "I'm at least slightly better than average, and thank God for that." But part of us is also thinking "Oh God, why did I do the things I've done, and how do I keep from doing more, and what can I do to escape the consequences?"
Our modern society favors the pharisee. We have whole industries built around keeping us from any kind of introspection, distracting us and giving us a plastic manufactured ruler we can use to judge others against what the media tells us we think is right.
We're told that certain things (that only other people do) are never okay. We're told that we have to look after ourselves first and not let the haters spoil our day. We're told that the only sin is noticing sin, unless it's the sin of people who are not like us. And so it's easy to live the life of the pharisee. The scaffolding is already in place.
But assuming we do find a moment for self-reflection, we can't just dwell on our faults and call it fixed. The tax collector was righteous not because he turned his critical eye inward, but because he also asked for mercy. He acknowledged that he lived in a world that belonged to someone else, someone who had a legitimate grievance against him. And he glorified God by acknowledging both His holiness and His merciful character. If we just wallow in self-condemnation, we miss all of that.
It's not the self-promoters with irrational self-esteem who get exalted or those who put others down. It's the ones with humility, who know the facts about themselves and where to get true help. It's the ones who are more interested in getting right with God than they are afraid of appearing weak.
Take some time this week to examine your character in light of this parable. Who is more evident in your life? The inner hypocrite or the inner scoundrel? Only the one with humility finds his way out of the condemnation both deserve.
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