Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

Have you ever thought you had things together? Maybe in a certain area of your life you felt like the expert? One area I thought I had things figured out was parenting. I know all the parents are already laughing at me. See, when I thought I had parenting figured out was when I wasn’t a parent. “Why don’t they just tell their kids to go to sleep,” or “They need to get their kids under control in this restaurant,” or “I sure would discipline that kid for that if they were mine!” I could go on and on, but you get the picture. When I became a parent, I was so quickly humbled. Humbled every day really. The only thing that I know for sure about parenting is that no parent has everything figured out, but we sure try our best.

The me before kids was so much like the Pharisee in verses 9-14. I was arrogant, thinking I had it all figured out without experiencing parenting. Or for the Pharisee, arrogant without experiencing God’s mercy and grace. After having kids, I’m humbled having experienced parenting and the trials it brings daily, like the tax collector who came to the temple humbled and experiencing God’s mercy and grace. The tax collector went to the temple recognizing his sin and begging for mercy. The Pharisee came to announce how good he was, but we who have experienced God’s grace know how sinful we all are, kind of like how we parents know that all those other parents are like us, just trying to figure it out. We’re all sinners and when we try to justify our sins as “not as bad” as others or choose to judge others' sins, we become so much like the Pharisee: arrogant, prideful, and allowing that to cut us off from God and His blessing of mercy. When we approach Jesus like the tax collector, humbled and realizing our need for a Savior, we can fully experience God’s love, grace, and mercy.

Reflection:

• In what area of your life have you become arrogant?
• What sin do you need to confess to God and beg for mercy like the tax collector?

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Family Application: Humble Yourself

By: Todd and Cynthia Kilbourne

In Luke 18:9-14, we read the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. This story teaches us that we should not look at ourselves as better than others because of what we have or are able to do.

The Pharisee in the story thought he was better than others because he followed the law and had studied all of the scripture. He appeared to be holy on the outside, but his heart was not in the right place. The tax collector, on the other hand, knew he was a sinner and humbled himself before God.

So what does this mean for us? First, what does it mean to be humble? One definition that I like is – not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. Ways we can be humble include putting others first, being thankful for all that we have, being willing to share, and treating others the way we would like to be treated.

The Pharisee thought that he was doing great because he was doing better than those around him. However, the error in his thinking was that other people are not the standard for righteousness, God is. We will always fall short of the righteousness of God. The tax collector knew this, and that is why he was humble. Luke 18:13 says – “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “

We don’t want to be like the Pharisee who thought it was more important to look good. We want to be like the tax collector who was more focused on wanting to do good by first being humble. When you focus on God and not comparing yourself to others, you can be thankful and put others first.

• Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, please help us to be more like the tax collector in this story by realizing that we are sinners and are saved by Your grace. Please help us to keep the right perspective by being thankful for all that You do for us and to put others first. In Jesus’ name, Amen.