One of the greatest barriers to salvation itself can be mistakenly believing that we are somehow better than others, and that somehow guarantees Heaven. How many times have we heard someone say, “Well, I’m a good person”? But even after salvation, comparison to others and placing confidence in our ability to do good works can quickly get us off-track in our faith.
In Luke 18, Jesus used a parable to show us how God feels about confidence in our own righteousness.
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (vv. 9-14 NLT) The Pharisees were considered the mega-church pastors of the day, looked up to and revered for their spirituality. Tax collectors were looked at like we view sleazy, ambulance-chasing attorneys. For Jesus to flip this paradigm on its head was very controversial. Both men prayed but one focused on others’ sin, while the other man focused on his own sin. One didn’t think he needed God and the other desperately did.
Being honest, don’t many of us go back and forth between feeling really good about ourselves and flirting with the thinking of the Pharisee or being very convicted and relating to the tax collector?
One of the many paradoxes of the Gospel is that true confidence can only be found in humility. In knowing God, we discover who we are and find our identity in surrender to Him.
Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus’ teaching, as controversial as it was then and now. Thank You that Your truth is a paradox to this world. Help me to discover my confidence as I humble myself before You. As above, so below.”