“God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:11).
The problem with this prayer offered by a self-righteous Pharisee is that Romans 3:23 teaches that, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
“All” in the Greek means “all”. Everyone. But the Pharisee said He is not like other men. The truth is, he was exactly like other men. He too had sinned. He too had fallen short. And what’s worse, is that rather than acknowledging that basic truth, he was in the habit of pointing out the sins of others to make himself feel better.
Jesus said, in contrast, a corrupt tax collector prayed, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ This is the prayer that pleased God.
This highlights a common human error. It is the error of fixating on the speck in another’s eye and missing the plank in our own.
And so, ask yourself this: does my inward dialogue sound more like looking out at the world with criticism and condemnation or more like ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’? Be honest. There’s no fooling Jesus and His opinion is the one that counts.
This is a reminder to me as much as I hope it is to you to keep your primary focus on the transforming work that needs to be done inside us more so than pointing out all the problems in the those around us. Highlighting the sins of others feels like an easy out and convenient smokescreen, but it leaves us personally stuck and unhealed. The Good Physician doesn’t like that. And so, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”