Text: “…everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).
Do you know anyone who has a tendency to exalt himself or herself? Those people who are always praising themselves, applauding themselves or paying tribute to themselves are exalting themselves. They are glorifying themselves.
We all know at least one person who falls into this category. Maybe the one person we know is none other than us. Have you ever thought about that?
We should not think poorly of ourselves because we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) and our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). However, we should not go to extremes and keep telling other people and God how important we are, what we have done for others, how we have supported His work or anything else of this nature.
God already knows how good we are and what we have done with the time, talent and goods He has provided for us. We are very visible to the people who encounter us, so they know if our talk and our walk coincide. We are unable to hide anything from God and most people are smart enough to figure out if we are really the person we project.
On the other side of the coin is the humble person. A humble person is meek, modest or unassuming. This person is just the opposite of the person who always praises himself. I would venture to say there are as many humble people as there are people who like to exalt themselves.
“No Need to Mention the Name!”
One day, crossing a New York City street, a woman became confused, and stepped directly in front of an approaching streetcar. People on both curbs were sick with horror at her sure fate, when a powerful man rushed forward and not only rescued her from the streetcar, but also carried her to safety on the sidewalk.
It was a miracle of bravery and quick thinking. A police officer said to the hero, “I’ll have to report this incident, sir, and I ought to mention your name for valor.”
“There will be no necessity for mentioning my name.” “But I must put down something, sir,” the police officer insisted. “Then,” smiled the hero, “just put down that a black man did it,” and with that he disappeared in the crowd.
A ripple of admiration went softly through the crowd. “A black man did it.” What modesty! What quiet dignity! What modesty! What quiet dignity! What an honor to the whole race of black men! The man was Dr. Robert R. Morton, President of Tuskeegee Institute!
-----------------------------Bible Teacher,
Southern Baptist Convention
This is an excellent example of a modest man. He did not think about himself. It was not necessary for others to know his name. He did not want credit for his deed. Praise was not something he desired. Here was a humble man. He was a sinner saved by grace.
Jesus brought this parable to the forefront to get the attention of those people who considered themselves righteous. These people also had a tendency to look down upon other people.
Times have changed, but people have not changed in there line of thinking. This parable is just as relevant today as it was in Jesus’ day. Some people are as conceited today as before. You and I know people who are full of themselves.
In other words, these people think they are holier than others are. In their heart, they feel God loves them more because of all the glorious wonders done in His name. These people trust that God will provide for them whatever they ask because they deserve it.
People who exalt themselves are not happy people. In their mind, they truly believe in what they are saying and what they are doing. They have no peace in their life because their focal point is on themselves and not on Almighty God.
If you are excited about being like this Pharisee, just follow the words in this little selection entitled, “How to Be Miserable.”
Think about yourself.
Talk about yourself.
Use “I” as often as possible.
Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others.
Listen greedily to what people say about you.
Be suspicious.
Expect to be appreciated.
Be jealous and envious.
Be sensitive to slights.
Never forgive a criticism.
Trust nobody but yourself.
Insist on consideration and the proper respect.
Demand agreement with your own views on everything.
Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them.
Never forget a service you may have rendered.
Be on the lookout for a good time for yourself.
Shirk your duties if you can.
Do as little as possible for others.
Love yourself supremely.
Be selfish.
This recipe is guaranteed to be infallible.
-------------------------Gospel Herald
I do not believe any of us want to be miserable. Life is too short; in addition, God did not put us on earth to live this type of life. We are to enjoy life to the fullest extent. His light is to shine through us proclaiming what Jesus had done for us and what He can do for others.
Our Scripture talks about two men who went to the temple to pray. In Jesus’ day, people often went to the temple several times a day to pray. There were certain times set aside for public praying. On this particular day at this particular time, the Pharisee and the Publican went for personal prayer.
Each knew there would be many other people in the temple simply because it was open to the public. This is exactly what the Pharisee wanted. His righteousness could shine before the eyes of everyone else present. He knew he could make himself the center of attraction by announcing loudly all the wonderful things about himself.
Each one of us probably knows people who fall into the same category as the Pharisee. “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get’” (Luke 18:11, 12).
Notice the first thing the Pharisee did. He stood up to pray. There is nothing wrong with standing to pray unless the sole purpose is to draw the attention of other people present. Our attention during prayer should be focused on God the Father.
We have God’s attention all the time. We do not have to make a spectacle of our praying. Our communication with Him should be personal and not for the soul purpose of gaining attention. We do pray aloud when we are in a group, but not for the purpose of gaining personal attention.
As we pray, we are thanking God for His mercy upon us and for all He has done for us and for all He has provided for us. We thank Him for the breath of life. We thank Him for sending His Son into the world and paying our sin debt. We thank Him for giving us the opportunity to spend eternity with Him in His kingdom.
We can pray for such people as robbers, evildoers, adulterers or even tax collectors who have wandered away from the fold, but we do not pray in a degrading manner. In other words, we are not to look down upon these people, because God already knows their status in life.
We are to pray for them and not compare our goodness to their way of life. We do not have to tell God all the good things we have done for other people or how many time we fast or how much money we have given to His work, because He already knows these things.
If we pray in this manner, we are no better than the Pharisee is. We are exalting ourselves, praising ourselves, and giving God and other people the impression we are better than they are.
Jesus said, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:5, 6).
The Pharisee was a hypocrite. A hypocrite is a deceiver, a cheat, an impostor, a fraud, or a fake. The Pharisee was so full of self-righteousness and pride that it prevented him from having a close relationship with God. In fact, he was not interested in this type of relationship, but he was more interested in impressing people with all his good deeds and accomplishments.
I do not believe the Pharisee was really praying to God. He did use the word “God” but his focus was upon himself. He was not giving God honor and glory, but he was praising himself. He did fast and he did give his tithes and that it wonderful. These things given with the right intent do certainly glorify God, but it appears the Pharisee was only going through a formality.
When we pray, do we merely go through a formality? Do we pray with the intent of bringing attention to ourselves? Do we come to church to worship God? Do we come because we want other people to notice us?
The Pharisee went to the temple to exalt himself. He thanked God for not being like certain other people. He gives the impression he is better than others are. He brought the Publican or tax collector into his prayer in a derogatory manner.
The Pharisee was looking down his nose at people. God does not honor this type of prayer. We are all His children created in His image. Some people make choices leading them down the wide and narrow road of life. These people need our daily prayers.
“But the tax collector (Publican) stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’” (Luke 18:13).
The Publican went to the temple to praise God. He was a very humble and modest man. He realized he was a sinner. He considered himself unworthy to come into the presence of Almighty God and this is why he stood off by himself.
The Publican could not lift up his eyes to heaven, but he did something much greater. He lifted up his heart to Almighty God, his Father. He did not lift up his eyes because of his sinful nature. He felt bad because of the thought of his sin.
His prayer was “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). He beat upon his breast because he knew the sin was within his heart. The heart is where sin likes to live. The sins you and I have are in our heart. When we repent of our sins, we are asking God, with His infinite mercy, to remove the sin from our heart. God is the only one who can remove, forgive and forget our sins.
The humble Publican was not concerned about exalting himself. He did not bring other people into his prayer, as did the Pharisee. He did not downgrade anyone. He did not inform God as to all the good deeds he performed.
The Publican knew he was a sinner and his salvation was in the hands of God who sent His Son to pay everyone’s sin debt. His prayer was “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (v. 13). The Publican was like a beggar in the sense he was begging for God’s forgiveness for the sins he had committed.
Did God have a problem with this lowly beggar? No! God heard and accepted the Publican’s prayer. How do I know? I know because Jesus said, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God” (v. 14).
The Pharisee thought that if anyone were justified, it would be him. This was not God’s way of thinking. When God justifies someone, He pronounces righteousness upon that person.
Whatever the issue had been, after justification, it is as thought it never happened. God’s Word says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23, 24).
Conclusion:
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector” (Luke 18:10). Both men went to the temple to pray, but theirs prayer were different. The Pharisee exalted himself, but the Publican considered himself unworthy and asked for God’s mercy. Both left the temple. One left justified by God and the other rejected. The self-righteous man’s prayer did not ask for forgiveness of his sins, but the Publican poured out the sins of his heart.
The Publican was exalted while the Pharisee was humbled.
Are you like the Pharisee or are you like the Publican?
Let’s be like the Publican.
Amen.
