"He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:"(Luke 18:9)
My sophomore year of high school, I was blessed to make it on the varsity basketball team. At the largest public high school in the state of Ohio, I was the first to achieve this goal in over ten years. The last player to do this ended up playing NCAA Division One. Needless to say, I was ecstatic! With that said, pride quickly filled my heart.
As the season progressed, I worked my way into the starting lineup by putting in extra hours after practice and working hard. As my minutes increased, so did my ego. Until one day, I was confronted by a senior team captain. He looked me straight in the eyes and called me out for my level of play. Never have I been so quickly humbled. Similarly, Jesus took the same stance when he called out those who were self-righteous and looked down on others.
The author of the parable, Luke, introduced Jesus’ message in verse nine. Luke does not specifically mention the Pharisees, but speaks of people who are righteous in their own eyes and contemptuous. He reveals the intended target audience to whom Jesus is talking to. Notice, that Jesus tells the parable to them, not about them. He confronts them face-to-face, not behind their backs.
Jesus may have been focusing on the Pharisees, but there were many others who fell into the same category as them – who trusted in their righteousness. The Jews believed they were separated from the Gentile “dogs”, since they were Abraham’s descendants and followed the Law of Moses. Jesus shattered their beliefs that they were above others because of their heritage and moral lives.
It is equally tempting for each of us to “trust in ourselves”, be prideful, and “treat others with contempt”. Have you ever walked past a homeless man and instantly thought of yourself better than him? It may not come out like that in your head, but subconsciously, we are thanking God that we are not like those who live on cardboard boxes. Not only is it true when looking in the mirror, but you also see churches who are filled with people following a spiritual game plan on upholding moral standards.
When I was confronted face-to-face with a teammate about where I was falling short, I had to take a step back and look at myself in the mirror. My encouragement to you is to take that step back ask yourself, “would I be included in the audience of whom Jesus is directing his message to?”. Would you consider yourself self-righteous or contemptuous? I’m convinced we all can answer with a resounding yes, since we live in a sinful world, thankfully Jesus has a message for us in the days ahead of our study.
Father, I confess and repent of putting myself above others and seeing myself as self-righteous. Help me to not be quick to point fingers, but instead, quick to come to you. I need your help because I cannot do it on my own. Amen.
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