Devotions Archive Archive: 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 Search Archive Print This Article Humble beginnings Saturday, March 1, 2008 Matthew 18:10-13 Jesus told a parable, "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity greedy, dishonest, adulterous or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.' But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'" The Pharisee had a familiar posture and place to pray. He repeated his words often. His "gratitude" to God barely masked pride, entitlement and judgment of others. And yet on some level he was satisfied with this pathetic attempt at connecting with God. The tax collector seems much less comfortable. He stays away from others and has mixed feelings about God noticing him. Maybe he's afraid of God, or maybe he's just ashamed. He tries to punish himself, but that doesn't work. He is completely at God's mercy. And he knows he deserves nothing special, regardless of his remorse. This is the first of three moments in which Jesus lifts up humility. In the next he praises the enthusiasm of little children, unencumbered by their own pride. Finally he points out the limitations of a rich man's religious life, telling him to shed his riches and find his eternal place at the feet of Jesus. Such unexpected obstacles - success, adulthood, prosperity. Can I attain any of these fine things without giving up my humility? Jesus insists that humility is more important than any of them. Humility lets me talk with God instead of with myself when I pray. I don't know it all already. I am not satisfied with myself. I know my sinfulness does not please God, and I am at his mercy. There is nowhere else I can go. It is the beginning of all wisdom. So, Lord, shine through anything in me that masquerades as humility but is not. Burn up my pride and sense of entitlement. You are my light and my salvation. "; Add      Edit    Delete