A Right View of Yourself
Written by Ed Allen
Saturday, 25 September 1999 19:00
Effective Living in a Busy World
It?s difficult to get a right perspective of the back of yourself in a mirror. Have to look in exactly the right place, at exactly the right angle. Similarly, getting a good view of our lives, and our character requires that we look in exactly the right place at the right angle.
Definition of humility: Seeing ourselves as we really are.
Luke 18:9-14
(9) To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable (10) "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. (11) The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: `God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. (12) I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
(13) "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 everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Our culture does not value humility. Not really. Typically we don?t like the egomaniac. We recognize how ugly that looks in a person. And we may even admire genuine humility when we notice it, but who notices? When is the last time you saw humility appear on a resume? When was the last time you heard someone promoted because they were humble?
Our culture doesn?t really value humility. But God values humility. He says it should be part of our character. In fact, God says pride leads to downfall, but He will honor the humble. Even more to the point, God says those who humble themselves, He will exalt. But those who exalt themselves ? and it is possible to exalt ourselves for a time ? He will humble. God says he leads the humble and he teaches the humble His ways.
And God proved His point by completely humbling Himself in order to build a good relationship with us.
Jesus told the parable we just read to those who were proud in a special kind of way. He told this story to those who have religious pride?
But in order to fully get the point we?ve got to make sure we don?t stereotype the two characters in Jesus? story.
The Tax Collector
Let?s make sure we see what kind of man this tax collector is.
- Made his money by fleecing his own people. His countrymen considered him a traitor and a thief. He collaborated with the enemy for his own material gain.
- His top priority was money. He was probably a rather tough person who thought all was fair in business. Business is business after all.
- In all likelihood, his friends were unsavory sorts. He had built a life on disregarding his religion and its traditions.
What kind of man was the Pharisee?
- He was completely sincere in his service to God.
- He fasted and prayed and sacrificed so that he might know God and God?s will.
- He is a highly respected man, who must not be caricatured: not a simple hypocrite.
- He believed in the tradition and he practiced it.
- He was probably not the kind of person who always went on and on about his holiness and all his fine attributes.
- In fact, 2 things must be noticed about his prayer:
2. He tells the truth. He is not a murderer, etc.
- Do we always get it wrong? Is the opposite of our judgement always the only right one in God?s eyes?
- Is the judgement of people, even very earnest and morally mature people, of no value at all? Can we never trust our perceptions? Our instincts?
- Doesn?t God have any appreciation whatsoever for the fact that the tax collector is a rascal, who has sold his soul for money and influence while the Pharisee is very serious about pleasing God and a man of high integrity?
As is usually the case for me, the mystery here is solved when I stop looking at the externals and I look at the heart. God always looks at the heart. And the key to Jesus? teaching in this story is to look at the direction each character?s heart is facing.
The pharisee ? faces downward. He looks to the tax collector to justify himself.
The tax collector ? faces upward. He finds no justification and asks for mercy.
How about you?
- When you think of yourself, what is your standard of measurement? Where are you looking?
2. In terms of our self image we usually look across ( to someone more successful or more beautiful than we are.)
- Low self esteem is not humility. It is simply another form of pride.
- One writer said, "I know what a Miss America looks like, but how about a Miss Kingdom of God? Hard to see, isn?t it? By the world?s standards, I may end up ordinary. Should I care? In some cases, as a plaque in my office says, "It don?t matter."
Philippians 2:5-11
(5) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
(6) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
(7) but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
(8) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
(9) Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
(10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
(11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
1. Jesus Sacrificed.
- Not grasp equality with God.
- Made himself nothing.
- Became a servant
- Became a man
- Became obedient even to death.
Trade in our drive for wealth and comfort and power for sacrifice, service and obedience.