How many of us thank God that we are not like other people we know? How many of us thank God we are not criminals? How many of us thank God we don’t work in what we consider to be offensive jobs? Have we considered that doing so displays our pride before God?
We too often look down our noses at criminals, those who work in certain jobs, and even people we may know who behave unseemly. We don’t pause to think that we are being prideful in our situation, which God has blessed us with and that we are disappointing God.
Jesus tells a parable in which the Pharisee, one of the religious elite, thanks God he is not like other people. He does so out of pride and being judgmental. He has condemned those other people in his prayer rather than leaving that to God. Not only that, but he speaks of his actions in a prideful manner, justifying himself before God.
We are not to condemn others nor justify ourselves before God. First, it is only God who can condemn someone. He is the judge of all. Second, no matter what we do, we cannot justify ourselves before God. We are only justified by the blood of Jesus Christ. When we boil it all down, we are no better than anyone else who walks this earth. It required Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross to justify every one of us.
Rather than condemning others and attempting to justify ourselves, we should lift others up in prayer and ask God to forgive us. We should humble ourselves before God, knowing we cannot do anything to earn God’s favor. It is through God’s amazing grace that we are forgiven and blessed. God’s grace is not earned but freely given. God’s grace is not just for us but for every person on this earth.
I pray we all realize we are no better than anyone else. I pray we lift others up in prayer that they may be blessed. I pray each one of us humble ourselves before God and ask for forgiveness. You cannot earn God’s favor. Lift others up in prayer. Humble yourself before God. Ask God for forgiveness.
Luke 18:11-12 “The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’”
Marty Pressey 