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Home/Biblical and Theological/“Thank You I’m Not like That Pharisee”

“Thank You I’m Not like That Pharisee”

I read this parable and immediately thank God that I am not like the Pharisee. The virtue is corrupted; the good is undone.

Written by Michael Kelley | Sunday, April 14, 2019

Humility is not an option. Every mouth will eventually be closed; every chest will eventually be beaten; every knee will eventually bow. Humble yourself now or be humbled by God later, but humility is coming nonetheless. Now here’s the thing – we can look at this story and learn many things. We can learn, for example, that the fashion and nature of our prayers goes a great way in being a window to our hearts. 

 

We have, as humans, a remarkable propensity to turn that which is virtuous into that which is personally indicting. The very thing that might well be a mark of our pursuit of Jesus and growth in holiness can, at an astonishing speed, become a source of pride and therefore a hindrance to that spiritual growth:

  • We volunteer to serve, and then immediately judge those who didn’t.
  • We give some money, and then immediately look to see if someone noticed.
  • We exercise self-control, and then immediately look to be rewarded by God for our efforts.

This tendency in my own heart – this tendency to corrupt – makes me think of a story Jesus told. But even more than the story, it makes me think of the way I react to the story. Perhaps you will remember this story the Lord told about two different people doing the same thing but for very different reasons:

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’

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Related Posts:

  • The Lost Art of Humility
  • Humility Is the Main Ingredient of Prayer, Repentance, and…
  • How to Evangelize with Humility
  • Humble Yourself
  • Humility Begins with Listening

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