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
Pharisees…we all have it in us at times. The Pharisees were the ultimate religious people among the Jews during Christ’s life on earth. They were determined not to break any of God’s laws. The essential problem lay in their different understanding of the nature of God. For the Pharisees, God is primarily one who makes demands. For them, the Scriptures of the Old Testament were a set of rules that must be kept at all costs. For Jesus, as well as the Old Testament believers, God is primarily “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Ps. 145:8).
This lesson from Scripture reminds me of my need for a Savior. Many times, I forget the cross and worry how holy and better I am than others. In my Mormon days, I use to marvel at my good deeds and would easily question those who were outside the Mormon faith. We need to be careful that we do not add our own man-made rules to the Scriptures. Some convictions that we hold dearly may be derived more from our particular Christian culture than derived from Scripture, and we need to learn to discern the differences. It is okay to have cultural convictions, but we should be careful that we do not elevate them to the same authority as Scripture. The reason for so much judgmentalism among Christians today occurs because we do this. But that is basically what the Pharisees were doing. It is easy to become confined to this, but we must be careful not to become modern-day Pharisees.
For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. Romans 11:36
