The Story of the self-righteous and the humble
9-12 He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at other people: “Two men went up to Christian fellowship. One to an interactive participatory assembly that met in a home, the other to a denominational church. The first prayed in his heart like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people that attend dead institutional churches. Everyone participates in our meeting; we don’t have monologue teaching from someone called a pastor. Thank you that we are walking in your revealed truth about how to fellowship and we are not like these deceived folks that are part of the religious establishment”
13 “Meanwhile the man going to his denominational church, put his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, “God my wife and I argued this morning. Please forgive me for saying harsh words to her. Open my heart to hear you in the sermon today. Please lead us to who we should have lunch with after the service, so we could have some encouraging fellowship.
14 Jesus commented, “This humble man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”
© 2025 B Arnold Stein
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