“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:14 (NIV). Jesus said the same thing at Luke 14:11! This time Jesus said it after he told the parable of the Pharisee who praised himself and the tax collector who prayed for mercy because he was a sinner. Thus, Jesus’ point is that those who imagine that they are good enough on their own that they deserve honor before God are sadly mistaken. They exalt themselves now but God will bring them low one day. On the other hand, those who admit that they are weak and have faults will have a different fate. One day God will exalt those who humble themselves and they will be the ones who live a blessed life. We may not exalt ourselves with public statements but we are still tempted to exalt ourselves in other ways. We are tempted to exalt ourselves because of our worldly success with money or status. We exalt ourselves in judgment over the faults of others instead of showing mercy. We are tempted to exalt ourselves because of our knowledge of Scripture or our experiences of God. We might exalt ourselves just because our culture tells us to think of ourselves thoroughly wonderful. The challenge is to acquire a truly humble heart that recognizes our neediness before God and for our words and actions to reflect that heart.
