to the temple to pray. As far as
he was concerned, he didn ’t
need
to repent or make any changes in
his life — he just needed an extra
bit of reassurance that he was
doing everything right.
But as he was praying, someone
in the corner of the temple was
crying and praying loudly, which
disturbed him. He looked the man
over from top to bottom and
decided that the only way to
ignore him would be to pray
louder and show him that this was
a temple, not a bar.
‘ Oh My Lord, I praise You, not
only for what You’ve been in my
life but mostly because of what
I ’ve conquered for You. I have
lived my life in the best way
possible and I think I have done a
very good job. You see Lord, I ’m
not sure if You have noticed but I
don ’t live life as most men my
age do.
Take that man in the corner, for
example … he must have done
quite a few things wrong in his
life, things I ’m sure You
disapprove of … whereas I, your
faithful and reliable servant, come
here not to ask You for
forgiveness but to praise You
with
my life. I have an eye for
perfection and I use that to guide
my life.
I can see how poor and needy
that man is, which clearly shows
that he hasn ’t done his best. I
can’t help but feel sorry for You,
my Lord, for having to put up
with such a pathetic creature.
Amen. ’ When we read this
parable of our Lord Jesus, it
seems so obvious that this
“ righteous” man has the wrong
attitude. Yet haven’t you seen this
exact same disposition in many of
us?
Many of us like to boast about our
accomplishments, saying “I am so
good at that” or “What would the
church be without me” … or the
ultimate, “I wish everybody was
just like me”, consequently
making other people feel low and
unworthy …
The more we do for God, the
more the devil attacks us. One of
his favourite methods is to give
us
a self-righteous point of view, so
that we no longer see the plank
in
our own eye but only the speck
in
someone else ’s. (Read Luke
6.42.) The truth is that no one is
truly good. No one is high enough
to say that he or she is better
than others. We all have our
shortcomings, but through faith
we ’ve been chosen to serve God
as best we can, with whatever we
have. The smaller we seem
before others, the bigger we are
before God … the less capable,
the more useful.
--
God Bless You !!!
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