The Original “Pride and Prejudice”
In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus shoots a piercing parable targeting “some who trust in their own self-righteousness, and so despise others”. He portrays two men praying at the temple, “one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector” (v10), presenting a stark contrast in social standing and spiritual posture. Not all prayers are alike, not all outward words and acts of devotion are desirable.
The Pharisee stands confidently on his platform of pride and prejudice, listing his righteous résumé: fasting, tithing, avoiding obvious sin. His words, not communion with God but a monologue of self-praise and self-congratulation dressed up as devotion. Highlighting self-righteousness he displays his disdain towards others, singling out “this tax collector,” as if the man should not be there. Pride isolates us from God and distances us from others.
The tax collector stands far off, feeling ‘distant’ from God, eyes downcast in sorrow, chest beaten in grief. His prayer, raw and desperate, recorded as five simple Greek words: “Theos hilasthēti moi tō hamartōlō” - God, be merciful to me, the sinner” (v.13). Words lacking eloquence yet full of sincerity.
Does God want proud performance or humble dependence? Is prayer a stage for self-display and self-affirmation or a sanctuary for surrender? Jesus announces it was this broken, despised tax collector going home justified before God.
In seeking to justify ourselves through religious performance, moral comparison or cultural status, we lean upon our own efforts and lean away from God’s mercy. Yet, Isaiah reminds us that “all our righteous deeds are like a soiled garment” (Isaiah 64:6). Apostle Paul echoes; “By works of the law no human being will be justified in [God’s] sight” (Romans 3:20).
In erecting altars to our accomplishments our prayers become less about God’s glory and more about our record. Pride blinds us to our need, and the heart that once cried for mercy now whispers, “I thank you that I am not like this other person.” The poison of pride is at the root of the Pharisee’s prayer. His confidence in his own goodness is a false, faltering foundation upon which he builds. Augustine wrote, “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Only those who admit their need will reach out to receive God’s help. C.H. Spurgeon said, “The gate of heaven is very low; only the humble can enter.”
Whether we've walked with Jesus for forty years or four months, we all come to the same cross of Christ as sinners saved by grace. Not by merit, but by mercy! We as church must mirror God’s mercy, so the despised feel welcome and do not fear rejection, the broken are healed and not hounded out, and the proud and prejudiced are gently called back to grace.
We come to God, not to boast, but to bow. We lift our eyes not to compare ourselves with others, but to glimpse and grab the forgiveness of Christ. “Everyone who exalts themselves will be humbled, but the one who humbles themselves will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). May we ‘go home’ justified, not because of what we’ve done, but because of Whom we trust.
Revd Michael Hogg