Scripture:
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 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.’ 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.” People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it.”
Luke 18:9–17
Devotional Thought:
The Pharisee had an impressive resume. His disciplines were real. His giving was consistent. His religious record was, by any external measure, exemplary. And he walked out of the temple exactly as he walked in — unchanged, unjustified, unseen by God in any meaningful way.
The tax collector had nothing to offer. No credentials. No track record worth mentioning. He stood at a distance, couldn’t even lift his eyes, and said the only honest thing he knew to say: God, have mercy on me, a sinner. And he went home justified.
Jesus is not praising ignorance or celebrating moral failure. He is exposing the particular danger of religious self-sufficiency — the subtle way that familiarity with God can insulate us from actually encountering him. The Pharisee’s prayer was not really a prayer at all. It was a performance — directed more at himself, and perhaps at others, than at God.
Worship that sees ourselves honestly sounds more like the tax collector than the Pharisee. It comes without pretense. It doesn’t lead with our accomplishments or our comparisons. It simply comes — aware of need, aware of sin, aware that the only ground we stand on is God’s mercy.
And then Jesus turns to the children. Receive the kingdom like a child, he says. Not with naivety — but with the uncomplicated, unpretentious dependence of someone who knows they cannot provide for themselves. That is the posture God is looking for. Not polish. Not performance. Just honest, open-handed need.
Come to him that way today.
Reflection Questions:
1. In your own prayer life and worship, do you relate more to the Pharisee or the tax collector? What does that reveal about how you see yourself before God?
2. What would it look like to receive from God this week with the open-handed trust of a child rather than the self-sufficiency of someone who feels they have it figured out?
Application:
Before you pray today, pause and ask: Who am I performing for right now? Then set the performance aside. Come to God simply, honestly, with whatever is actually true about where you are today. Let that be your prayer.