Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax
collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You
that I am not like other men - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as
this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I
possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as
raise 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 abased, and he who humbles
himself will be exalted.
~ Luke 18:10-14
So often we come to God with a list of our accomplishments, trying to prove
how worthy we are of His love. But God isn't interested in that; His love for
you isn't based on what you've done or haven't done. He loves you because you
are His creation, lovingly crafted in His image.
When we focus on our accomplishments as a way of earning God's love or
rewards, we allow pride to come in and draw our attention away from God and to
ourselves, and we find ourselves becoming distant from God, unable to hear His
voice. We begin to look at others, and judge them by our standards, seeing
them as unworthy of God's love or consideration; after all, they haven't done
anywhere near as well as we have!! We become like the Pharisee in the verses
above, haughty and proud, and our prayers are empty boasts. The tax collector
understood his unworthiness before God - he knew that his accomplishments were
nothing, and he also knew that God is merciful and forgives us our sins.
Lord, help us to be like the tax collector today, humble in Your sight,
knowing our accomplishments don't earn or lose Your love and mercy. Help us
to lay aside our pride and approach You with humility. Help us to see that
our deeds do not determine our value in Your sight, or the value of others.
Use us again today to touch the people we meet in this lost and dying world.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
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