#104: The Same Boat

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, "God, I thank You that I am not like other men-extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess." And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise 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 humbles, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18: 9-14

Everybody’s definition of rebelling against God is to be like the prodigal son in Luke 15, where you leave God and get lost in the world with sin, and that is what we will define as hedonism - the idea that one rejects God for worldly life and pleasures. Jesus spent most of His time on earth teaching that even though hedonism is bad, there is a far more dangerous way to rebel against God - in moralism. Self-righteousness is synonymous to moralism - the idea that one can earn their way into God's grace and blessings through moral deeds. In the full story of the prodigal son, we find that it was a story of a father and his two sons, who were both lost, but in different ways. The older son rebelled as a moralist in the field that he had created for himself where he thought that he could work to earn the favour of his father.

Today, God is not talking to the hedonists, he is talking to His other sons - the moralists. The story of the lost sons ended in an open-ended fashion. We never know whether the elder son came back into the house. Because it is harder for a moralist to realise that he is lost than a hedonist, because he says in his heart “look at all that I have done for God, He owes me now. I have not gone out from Him like those sinners.” They look clean on the outside but are destroying themselves on the inside (Matthew 23:25-28). They feel they do not need Jesus or grace because they assume, they are already doing the work of God. They work to earn salvation.

Do you say in your heart: “I earned all these because I did the right things, I fasted the most, I prayed the most, I worked the system properly”? Today God is telling you: “No you have not, you left me and pursued your selfish desires. It should never be about you, but about My love, grace and mercy.” Have you ever lost sight of the cross? Have you ever said in your heart: “the problem of the world is the sinners out there. Those hedonists must fix themselves up and start living decent lives”? It is a very slippery ground and we fall victim of this if not daily. Jesus said we should never judge anyone. The very act of judging is self-righteousness. Acknowledging the grace of God upon your life stops a man from judging others and seeing every one the way Christ sees us.

When Jesus came, he did not come to condemn the hedonists and praise the moralist. He came to convict the both parties. Most people look at the bible with this solemn conclusion: moralism is what God wants and hedonism is what God hates. But Jesus said both sides are wrong and prodigal, and they both need to come back home to their loving father. They are both on the same boat, headed down the cliff.

In the parable of the sower (Matt 13: 1-23) we see another parallel between the hedonists and the moralists. The truth remains that there is a higher chance of those on the wayside (hedonist) to receive the seed and bear fruit than those with rocky hearts and thorny hearts (moralists). The moralists in this parable received the seed, and the seed began to grow, but because it had no root (in Jesus) they easily faded away, and that is how dangerous it is to be self-righteous. Should the birds not have come for the seeds on the way side, they could have borne fruit. God wants us to be like the good soil that are humble to accept the word in faith and are teachable. Beware of self-righteousness!

Today, there are a misguided group of believers that use God to get the things they want. They are not necessarily concerned about their walk with God but what God can always provide for them (materially). They think if they bless God, He will hear them and reward them. They try to appease God instead of pleasing Him. This makes them to misunderstand the dealings of God in their life even to misunderstand the love of the Father when He chastises the sons He loves. Beware of self-righteousness!

In today’s passage, we can see two things. First of all Jesus said that the Pharisee prayed with himself. It was always about him. He was so full of himself. Take heed. The second thing is that the tax collector went home justified, but the Pharisee went home full of himself. May God help us to maximise our time with Him and realise that our righteousness is in Jesus Christ.

Thought: Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS!” Matthew 7:21-23

Prayer: LORD forgive me for trusting in myself, I am sorry for relying on my righteous deeds. It has clouded my judgement and made me to despise those in the world. I come to the cross today and ask for grace. I rely on grace to see me through my pilgrim’s journey from now on far above all the good deeds that I can perform. I pray that you become real to me. Even more real than any physical benefits I can get by walking with you. Amen.