The Power of Humility

By: Undre Griggs, Jr.

Have you ever noticed that Jesus likes to challenge social norms in His parables?  For many during that time, if you say the name tax collector and Pharisee in the same sentence, you automatically think something positive is going to be said about the Pharisee and negative about the tax collector.

Luke 18:10-14 (ESV): “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In this situation, Jesus is trying to teach the crowd to look for the humble person.  If someone has a prestigious position, but he or she is not humble, God will not exalt them and we should not either.  God is not pleased with someone who thinks they are the sole result of all their blessings.  God wants us to glorify His name when we succeed.  
To show the importance of humility, Jesus juxtaposes the “righteous” Pharisee against the “sinful” tax collector.  Since the tax collector was humble and the Pharisee was not, God exalted the tax collector.  As much wrongdoing as it is believed a tax collector participated in on a regular basis, his humility took precedence.

James 4:6 (ESV): But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

It is vital to remember we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  To look at our sin and feel justified when comparing them to another’s is unwise.  If you are humble, you will be like Paul and see yourself as the chief sinner.  Paul’s humility is one of the reasons God exalted him.  The sin of killing and persecuting Christians would disqualify him from being an apostle in most of our views, but not God’s.  God saw a person who was wrong and misguided, but that is what He has seen in all of us at some point.  

Which person will you be?

The humble will accept the reality they cannot earn their salvation, and they will seek God’s assistance.  The proud will believe they are a good person, living the best they can; and you cannot expect perfection.  The choice is clear, neither are perfect, but only one God exalts to the status of “sons of the Most High God”.  Choose wisely.