Not So Much Better

Luke 18:10-15 records the parable Jesus told about two men who went to the temple to pray. The first man was a Pharisee focused on himself, and Jesus even said he “prayed this to himself.” The prayer of the Pharisee was filled with comparisons to other people whom he believed were worse than himself. He was thankful that he was better than everyone else, and assumed God shared his estimation.

The other man was a tax collector, one of those specifically named by the Pharisee as needing improvement. The difference between these two men cannot be overstated. While the Pharisee prayed to himself about himself to praise himself, the tax collector prayed to God as a spiritual beggar. He knew he needed forgiveness; he knew his sins were grave in God’s sight. He pleaded with God for mercy and was so ashamed that he didn’t even look up. Jesus said the tax collector went home justified by God, while the Pharisee was still in his sins.

How do you view yourself? Do you see your need for forgiveness and your inadequacy in the sight of God? Do you see how much you need Jesus? Or do you think more like the Pharisee, who pointed fingers at others without the slightest recognition of his own faults? Jesus spoke this parable to address a problem common in His day that persists today as well: there were, and are, religious people who trust in themselves, believe they are righteous, and view others as worthless.

Rather than seeing others as beneath you, remember that you are very much the same. Eternity stretches out in front of you both, and both of you need Jesus’ blood to stand before God in the judgment. Neither of you are worthy of it, but God gave Him to pay for you both, and for all.