NO ROOM TO BRAG
LUKE 18:9-14 NKJV
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
This is another chapter rich in powerful insights. The very first verse begins with we should always pray and not lose heart.
Then Jesus, still using prayer as a context, delves into the subject of religious pride.
In His parable, an example, not an actual event, Jesus contrasts a Pharisee and a tax collector. In the culture of Jesus' day, there may not have existed a greater contrast.
Pharisees were at the top of the religious food chain. Tax collectors were the bottom feeders. And yet Jesus, as he was so often prone to do, flipped the script on the religious order of the day.
The Pharisee was thanking God, but in reality, he was bragging about himself. Firstly, he was boasting about how much better he was than other people. In particular, people who were sinners and people such as the tax collectors.
The Pharisee then reminded God of all the good he was doing in fasting and tithing.
The tax collector took a different approach. He humbly asked God for mercy because he acknowledged himself as a sinner.
In summarizing, Jesus declared, to the dismay of the religious leaders and the delight of the common folks, that it was the tax collector who was right in God's eyes.
Jesus said that what the Pharisee was doing was exalting himself. This Pharisee had determined that he was righteous and looked down on the tax collector. In bragging about himself, the Pharisee was exalting himself.
The tax collector humbled himself by acknowledging his need for mercy. And it was the one who humbled himself who was exalted.
APPLICATION:
It is quite easy to forget where we came from. Easy to forget what we were before Jesus made a difference in our lives.
Even if you have been a believer all your life, that is still no reason to look down on sinners. If not, for God's grace, where would you be?
I am not advocating putting ourselves down. I am advocating being gracious to others because God has been gracious to us.
Acknowledging what God has done for us leaves no room to brag.
PRAYER:
Lord thank You for Your mercy to me. I acknowledge I would be so lost without you!