Maybe Being Humbled is Mercy, Not Punishment
Read this story Jesus told with me, and let’s think a little together about the last few lines:
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” - Luke 8:10-14
Two people come before God in prayer, one who celebrates how much better, how different he is than everyone else around him, and another who can do nothing but confess his need for God’s mercy. And it’s clear which kind of prayer Jesus prefers. But why?
I don’t think he wants us to be sad and down on ourselves all the time. But often we are struggling in a variety of ways, with brokenness and limitations and sin. That’s just part of what it means to be human. We have hurts and needs. And Jesus welcomes the humility and honesty that brings this man to ask for help - because God wants to help. Wants to comfort and heal us, help us grow up fully into ourselves and into the imago Dei planted within us.
Pride blocks that - prevents us from naming what hurts, our limits and flaws, and asking for the help we need. So maybe when Jesus suggests that the proud will be humbled, it’s not a threat of punishment, but a promise of mercy. When reality catches up to us, and the struggle we’ve been pretending away cannot be hidden any longer, God’s love will still be there waiting.
Which person do you resonate with more these days? How aware of you feeling of your need for compassion and connection? What kind of human need are you holding out to God today? May you experience God’s welcome today, God’s delight to be with you in your strengths and in your struggles.
