Comparisons

Sometimes we think too much of ourselves and too little of others.

Jesus 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

We like to think of ourselves as the humble tax collector, ashamed to come before God and humbly ask for forgiveness and grace.

But do we really want to see ourselves that way?

Don't we pride ourselves on our righteousness?

Look at him, we say, even if it is only to ourselves.  How could anyone live that way?

Well, the good news is the world isn't broken down into two types of people, the tax collectors and the Pharisees.  We are all different, and we vary in degrees of righteousness and shame.

We could be standing next to someone who makes us feel more righteous one minute and then find ourselves humbled by the overwhelming gracious love of someone else the next.

God knows we don't fall into simple stereotypes, but Jesus used them to remind us of them, just so we think twice when we find ourselves in a position where our minds guide us to comparisons.

When we feel ourselves slipping into comparison mode, we might just try to remember the Pharisee standing there all puffed up and proud.

Am I being like that?

Whether I am or not, just thinking I might look that way might change our demeanor for the good.

More to come...