Confident

Luke 18:9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:

We live in a society that ranks everyone. Just like the caste system of India, we tend to stay in the strata of society in which we were born. There may be some who rise, but they are the exception. We might want to rise, but are we willing to put in the effort to make it a reality? That is the question.

We tend to place people in categories by their appearance or the surroundings in which they travel. We see their clothes and place them above or below us. The vehicles they drive and the homes they live in give us clues about their wealth, or perhaps their level of debt!

Jesus has no problem confronting those who feel they are better than everyone else. The parable He tells drills right down to their level of humility. If they are high on the ‘self-reliant scale’ they are low on the humility scale. And humility is better than self-reliant! Self-reliant people tend to be proud.

So it is better to humble yourself, admit your shortcomings and weaknesses, than it is to think and act as if you don’t need others or God. We do what we can do, but freely acknowledge where we can’t and need help.

I have to admit this is difficult for me. When I am building a project around the house, I have a tendency to figure out how to do it in a way that doesn’t involve anyone else. Part of that has to do with my impatient nature. I want the project to get done, and not be delayed by waiting for the help of another person.

And part of my reluctance to ask for help has to do with pride. I want to be able, if I am honest about it, to say that I did it by myself and have people be impressed. Pride! Yikes!

But when it comes to righteousness, I am an empty bank. In fact I have IOU’s. I know that my righteousness amounts to zero. I am totally dependent on the righteousness of Christ. I freely admit this. I am weak; He is strong.

What areas in your life do you secretly take pride in? Where are your boastings? Will you join me in admitting your own emptiness and the sufficient of Christ?