Jesus tells the story of two men, one a self-righteous Pharisee and the other a despised tax collector.

(NASB) Luke 18:9-14 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
10 ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 ‘The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
13 ‘But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
14 ‘I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.’”

  The Pharisee:
Exalted himself
Compared himself to those he considered unrighteous
Thought highly of himself because he paid tithes of all he got

  The Tax collector:
Unwilling to lift his eyes to heaven
Beat his chest with his hands
Recognized that he was the sinner in need of God’s mercy

  The judgment of Jesus on these two men:
The tax collector went home justified before God
The tax collector humbled himself before God and God exalted him
The Pharisee – not justified before God
The Pharisee – exalted himself before God; therefore, he would be humbled by God

How do you approach the living God of the Bible?