Looking down on others

Luke 18:9-14

I’m not sure this is the correct quote, nor do I recall the author but it was close to this; “It is impossible to look up to God when you are looking down on others.”  How easy it is for each of us to dismiss the Pharisee in ourselves, and in doing so we miss much of what Jesus is saying, I am talking from my own experience.  Jesus is talking to his disciples and “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.”  (Luke 18:9)  Will you pause with me for a moment and ask, have I put my trust in myself, have I looked down on others and was thankful I was not like that person, that I was not ______and now do not lie to yourself, you’ve done it and so have I.  So it is clear that many of us do not have to wonder which person we are in the story Jesus is about to share with us.

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat 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 everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14 ESV)

Pharisees were driven by rules and religion, men of knowledge without understanding.  It is not good when a follower of Christ looks into the mirror and sees an over zealous Pharisee gazing back at us.  Most of us do not have these encounters at church we have them at Wal-Mart, on the job, in the neighborhood; where those who do not have our income or our education come in contact with us.

May our prayer be Lord Jesus, you know all about me, you know my thoughts and in spite of that you love me, please change my heart and mind and fill me with Your mind, so that I may be of value in Your kingdom. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

“When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.” - William Arthur Ward