Read Luke 18:9-14
“9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people — greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner! ’ 14 I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” -- Luke 18:9-14 (CSB).
Pride is a subtle sin.
It is not always easy to detect in our own lives. Jesus understood this, so He gave us a picture of what pride and humility looks like with the two characters in this parable.
The Pharisee was an example of how pride behaves. The tax collector was an example of how humility behaves. Pride refuses to admit it has a need. Not one time in the parable did the Pharisee admit he had a need. Humility on the other hand readily admits it has a need. The tax collector struck his chest and admitted he needed forgiveness as a sinner. Pride has an “eagle eye” for other people’s sins. The Pharisee said, “I thank you that I am not like those other people who are greedy, unrighteous adulterers.” Humility on the other hand sees its own sin. The tax collector declared, “God turn your wrath from me, a sinner.” The main concern for pride is “what do other people think of me?” The Pharisee prayed about himself stating, “I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of everything I get.”
Humility’s main concern is “what does God think about me?”
