Be Humble or Be Humbled

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 'Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 'But the tax collector 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.' 'I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.' Luke 18:9-14 TNIV

I remember Bishop Hilliard preaching this text to the church many years ago, and I think many of us saw ourselves in the Pharisee, then again, perhaps I am just revealing the conviction I felt in my own heart at the words of his sermon. Religion isn't all about rites and rituals, following patterns cut from a cloth, speaking words without knowledge... or maybe "religion" is about such things, BUT faith is about reliance on a power greater than thine own and humbling oneself beneath that power. Faith doesn't make you better than other people, but hopefully it makes you a better person.

Written by Frederick A. Hanna