And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke, Chapter 18, verses 9-14.
This passage is kind of like Biblical irony. The Pharisee with the higher status, self-righteous attitude and brags about all the wonderful things he has done for others, isn’t justified. The humble man with the low status, who states how unworthy he is, is justified.
It really opens my eyes. Sometimes I become very self-righteous like the Pharisee, boasting to myself about all the good things I’ve done. (Actually it wasn’t me doing them in the first place. God gave me the instincts to do those things, but I was taking credit for them while boasting.) I need to be much more humble and not get so caught up in the egotistical part. That’s how Satan sneaks in and leads Christians astray!
Because this is an example of how I’ve applied this Bible passage to my life, it doesn’t necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the passage. Debbie
