Luke 18:14 "...for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
Pride and humility are two strong words that can make the difference in how you are perceived in society and in eyes of God. All of us have encountered those people who were haughty and came across as "know it all's." Usually we are patient with them and take their statements with a grain of salt. We figure that some day they'll probably get cut down to size.
Jesus shares the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector for Sunday's gospel from saint Luke. The parable finds the Pharisee and the tax collector at the temple praying. The Pharisee, a prayerful leader of the church and well respected in the community, lifts his prayers up, thanking God that he is not like the rest of humanity---greedy, dishonest and adulterous, or even like the tax collector. The Pharisee proclaims that he is better than all of them in his holiness, tithing and faith, at least according to himself. He is in fact judging himself better than others. The other person, the tax collector, comes to the temple, full of humility and shame, exhorting to God, to be merciful to himself the sinner. The only person the tax collector is judging is himself. He's not comparing himself to anyone and is trying to be accountable for his ways. Meanwhile the Pharisee, while trying to live a faithful life according to the rules of the temple, cannot see that his pride is blinding him from growing in deeper love of God. He is comparing himself to sinners instead of approaching God with a humble heart, knowing that the sin of vanity has engulfed him. He should approach God with awe and fear.
The takeaway is that we must be respectful of all people, and that God is the ultimate judge. We should not be the ones that judge other or compare our sins to those of others. Taking care of our own issues first will allow us to bring others to Christ.
