Publicans and Sinners

I was reading in Luke 18 and came across the familiar story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. The one (the Pharisee) was the perfect picture of selfish pride as he prayed and thanked God for the fact that he was so much better than the publicans and sinners. The other, to the contrary, was the beautiful manifestation of humility as his prayer was comprised of a plea to God for mercy in the light of his own sinfulness. It is too easy for us to lose sight of who we are in God’s grand scheme and to allow ourselves to be flattered by falsely inflated opinions that we permit to grow out of control in our own minds. This is a challenge to me… to be certain that what I am magnifying in my life is the beautiful character of God and not the things that I would have others to believe are accomplishments and character traits of my own invention… "God, be merciful to me, a sinner..." Luke 18:13b