True Humility

based on Luke 18:9-14

At one point in his ministry the Lord Jesus began to teach his followers in parables. Very simply, a parable is a story based on fact in which the heart of the message is driven home by way of comparison. One such parable is that of two people who were praying. And the point of comparison is the contrasts in the attitude of a self-righteous heart and that of a contrite or humble heart. In this parable about prayer the Lord Jesus addressed the question: How am I righteous before God?

To illustrate this teaching Jesus made use of a scene familiar to his audience. He introduced two men, one a religious leader called a Pharisee, the other a tax-collector. He could not have given a more striking contrast. For the Pharisee and the tax collector formed two opposite ends of the spectrum. They differed as day and night.

The Pharisees were highly respected by the people. These leaders formed the cream of the religious crop. They represented all that was morally right. They were the respectable class in society who, outwardly at least, showed themselves always above reproach.

Tax collectors, however, were detested. They belonged to the lowlife of society and were usually referred to as sinners. They represented the wicked and the totally irreligious. To some degree the tax collectors had earned this reputation for they habitually overcharged anyone that passed by their toll booth and pocket the difference. No wonder these men were despised.

Jesus presented these two opposites in this parable. One can well imagine that the people must have perked up their ears to hear  what Jesus would say about these two men who went up to the temple to pray. The sight of a Pharisee praying in the temple square was a normal occurrence. This man would be standing somewhere where others could see and hear him.

Jesus mentioned specifically that this man prayed about or to himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men”. His prayer is completely self-centred and, therefore, really no prayer at all.

It is true that he began by addressing God, but that was little more than window dressing. The rest of his prayer focussed on himself. God disappeared behind self-glorifying and self-serving words. He thanked God, but not to express his gratitude for God’s goodness and mercy in  forgiving sin. Rather, he thanked God that he was not like other people. He thanked God especially for not being like the tax collector.

He proudly listed his brownie points. He fasted twice a week which was more than the requirement, and he gave ten percent of everything he received.

By listing these achievement one can say that this man barely stopped short of congratulating God on having such a good servant. But in his conceited prayer he merely glanced at God while he was busy contemplating himself.

What the Pharisee said about himself could all be very true, and his problem was not that he had not done enough, but that he did the wrong thing altogether. Nowhere in this prayer did this self-righteous man confess his sins or short-comings. Apparently there was no need to ask God to forgive him for the wrongs he had done. And so there was no need either for the conceited heart to pray for God’s forgiveness and grace. And this showed completely how far removed his conceited heart was from God.

The main point Jesus is teaching us in this parable is that our heart is never in a more hopeless state than when we are not aware of our own sins. For that points to a heart and an attitude towards God that is filled with deadly conceit. What is needed is true humility before God. True humility is a matter of knowing that we need God’s forgiving grace in our lives.

And, therefore, Jesus placed over against this conceited heart the attitude of the contrite and humble heart. For the other person he introduced was a tax collector. While the sight of a Pharisee praying in the temple court was quite normal, the same could not be said for the tax collector. He was really out of his environment, so to speak. That is why he had taken his place at the outer fringes of the temple square, away from the people to bring his prayer before God’s throne of grace. Whereas the Pharisee listed his achievements, the tax collector voiced his remorse for being so sinful.

How striking is the contrast of this man with a contrite heart. He was ashamed of himself and his short comings. His conscience was bothering him. He needed spiritual help and consolation. And he knew where to get that help and encouragement. He went to God in prayer. Not a prayer of many words, but a prayer from the heart and with the right attitude. He acknowledged his unworthiness with a cry for mercy: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

In this parable, Jesus portrayed two different altitudes of two totally different people. Both men were thinking about their lives before God, but in entirely different ways.  The one was satisfied with himself and listed his achievements, the tax collector had become so aware of his sin that he came to God with empty hands. He had no merits or claims of which to boast. All he had was the humble plea that God forgive his sins and that God turn his divine wrath from him. It was a petition for forgiveness on the basis of God’s mercy. Not brownie points, but true remorse. No wonder that Jesus said, “I tell you this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.”

By his act of faith and trust in God’s mercy the tax collector was declared righteous before God. You see, decisive in God’s eyes is not our past record, whether good or bad, but our present attitude toward God. And the tax collector’s attitude was that of a man with a humble and contrite heart. He humbled himself and went home exalted. The Pharisee went home too, thinking the world of himself, but he had nothing except a heart filled with conceit.

Let us learn some very practical lessons from this parable. The Lord Jesus warns us against the sin of self-righteousness. And let everyone take that warning to heart. It is part of our sinful human nature that we have a tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. We secretly flatter ourselves that we are not as bad as some people we know. And maybe we feel that we even have something to commend us to the favour of God.

The true cure for a self-righteousness attitude is biblical knowledge of who we are before God. We need to analyse what lives in our own hearts and compare that to what God requires of us. When we do that then our self-esteem will vanish and we  will see the biblical truth that of ourselves no one righteous (cf. Rom 3:10).

Perhaps we do not exhibit such outright self-righteous as the Pharisee in the parable. But the more important point to consider is: Do we approach the level of the tax-collector where we should be? We do not easily humble ourselves before God. Often the most we utter in prayer is: ‘forgive me my sins’ without being specific which sins we mean. But do you ever ask: God, have mercy on me, a sinner?

If only we can bring ourselves to the level of the tax collector a little more often and implore God for his mercy on us sinners. Then we are on the right track. You and I can only come to God with an empty hand and a humble spirit. We have no achievements to present him of which to boast. We need to petition him on the basis of Christ’s redeeming work and on the basis of his promises.

For our salvation does not depend on self-righteous attitude—there is no merit in our brownie points; salvation is for those who, with humbled heart, acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

G. Nederveen

Burlington, ON