Each of my kids went through a phase when they said, “I got it, Dad.” They were seeking more independence, convinced of their competency without me. This is a natural part of childhood development, even as I knew they couldn’t yet do it on their own.
Many of us tell God, “I got it.” We embody the third response to grace - we excuse ourselves from needing it. We say, "All this stuff about sin and brokenness, I think you're overstating it. I'm a pretty good person. I don't need that much grace. I don't need grace at all."
The Pharisees embodied this attitude. They were the religious leaders who had mastered the Old Testament law and prided themselves on always doing the right thing. Jesus told a powerful parable about this mindset he encountered in them.
"He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector" (Luke 18:9-10, CSB).
Now, tax collectors were the least popular people in society. They cooperated with the Roman oppressors, levied heavy taxes on the Hebrews, and kept some for themselves. They were despised!
"The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: 'God, I thank you that I'm not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get'" (Luke 18:11-12, CSB).
This is more self-promotion than prayer. It's less about God and more about himself.
"But the tax collector, standing far off, wouldn't even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner!' God, have mercy on me, a sinner! God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:13, CSB).
Jesus concluded: "I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:14, CSB).
I make fun of the prayer of the Pharisee because I acted like one! I used to live like I was better than other people because I didn't sin the way they did. The temptation for all of us is to look down on people who struggle with things we don't.
But here's what I've learned: we excuse our own sin when we look down on someone else for theirs. The only way for that Pharisee to get above the tax collector is to think he's better because he doesn't sin the same way. Judgmentalism requires a level of height above others to look down on them and judge them. It begins with excusing our own sin.
When we recognize that our sin is just as great as anybody else's and our need for grace is just as great as anybody else's, we don't have space to look down on anybody. We stop excusing our sin. We stop judging their sin. We're merely grateful for the grace God has given us.
Some of us have never experienced grace because we’ve never acknowledged our own sin long enough to recognize our need for grace. You can either walk the road of excusing your sin, or you can walk the road of admitting your need for grace. But you can't do both.
JoJo The Mystical Monk
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