“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14, ESV).
Unhealthy pride is a primary barrier for spiritual formation and effective prayer. There is a healthy pride that is God-centered and motivates us to do our best in living for God and serving others, but unhealthy pride is centered in ourselves, our talents and abilities, rather than in the person and work of our Lord.
Jesus shared a parable in Luke 18:9-14. He communicated this parable to address those who trusted in themselves and their righteousness, rather than God and his righteousness. People who are puffed up with pride tend to forget their sinfulness and treat others with contempt. Jesus described two very different people who went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, trained and rooted in Old Testament law, and the other a tax collector, who would have been suspect by the Jews because of his occupation.
The Pharisee stood by himself to pray. Standing was a normal posture for prayer so it does not necessarily mean a pompous attitude, but as I. H. Marshall suggests, that is likely implied in this passage.[1] Since the text describes that the tax collector “stood far off,” it is likely that the Pharisee stood at the front of the temple. The Pharisee’s prayer is contemptuous. The Pharisee thanked God that he was not like other men, stressing his superiority. Pride blinded his eyes to the truth. He really believed he was better than others. His pride rested on his belief that he did not participate in extortion, injustice, or inappropriate sexual activity. He considered himself a model of virtue. He fasted twice each week and gave tithes of all that he received. Surely the Lord knew how lucky he was to have this Pharisee on his team! Fasting and giving are spiritual disciplines that aid our spiritual formation. But these positive exercises become a detriment to growth when they breed pride and legalism. The Pharisee went on to say, probably with contempt, that he was not sinful like this tax collector. He likely spoke these words with emphasis to ensure that the tax collector heard him. Robert Stein states, “Only those who possess a false confidence in their own righteousness look down at others.[2]
By contrast, the tax collector stood far off and would not even look up to heaven. Rather, he beat his breast praying, “God be merciful to me a sinner!” The tax collector’s prayer was short and to the point. His prayer exhibited great humiliation. He stood honestly before God asking for mercy and forgiveness for his sin.
The Pharisees were revered and respected religious leaders to the Jewish audience who heard Jesus’ parable. Many were astonished when Jesus declared that it was the tax collector who was justified as he returned to his house, not the Pharisee.
Applications
- Humility marks the life of a person who has an effective prayer life. Humility leads us to the recognition that God is the sovereign Lord. Our righteousness is as filthy rags in the presence of the Holy One (Is 64:6). No one is righteous, not even one (Rom 3:10).
- Remember the depths of your sin and the heights of God’s grace. We are not self-sufficient. We need the Lord. He is our strength and our salvation. None of us deserves salvation. It cannot be earned. Remembering the depths of your sin keeps you from pride and self-righteousness.
- Put others’ needs before your own. The world will know that we follow Christ by our love and by how well we serve (Phil 2:1-11).
- Rely on God rather than yourself. He is in control; we are not. We need his intervention in our lives. Trust God.
[1]I. H. Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1978), 679.
[2]Robert H. Stein, Luke, The New American Commentary, vol. 24, (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 449.