He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 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.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14, NRSV)
Have you ever done anything embarrassing?
Where people pointed their fingers and laughed at you?
Have you ever laughed at someone else when they did something embarrassing?
When I think about moments like this I am taken to a moment in Star Wars Attack of the Clones, where Ob1 goes to Yoda because the planet he is looking for is not on the maps. And Yoda teaching a class of younglings says, “Lost a planet Ob1 has, how embarrassing, how embarrassing.”
We have all done things which will get fingers pointed and people laughing, but should we?
You see the parable in today’s text tells us that we should not point out the downfalls of others, but should look out for ourselves. We should not compare ourselves with others but only ask God to help us with our short comings. And if we hear Jesus, we only have to tell God to help us, because He already knows what needs work! So if we can open our selves up to Him and allow Him to work in and through us, we will become more like Him.
So the next time you are ready to compare yourself to someone else, stop and know you on,y need to worry about becoming more like Jesus and not your neighbor.
aSacredRebel 