Contrite

Luke 18:9-14

Lynne Roots

Remember those kids from high school who joined every club and activity so their photo in the yearbook would have the most stuff next to it? Well, they are probably still up to their old tricks. Only now they are into charitable donating, sitting on boards, volunteering, tithing, chairing this or that event….and because they do more and give more, they are the best. And they make sure everyone knows it. Did you read Luke 18:9-14? They are the Pharisees.

During the time we lived in Alaska, I was privileged to work with a number of community organizations. As the wife of an oil company executive, lots of doors were open to me for fund raising for these organizations. I had the best time over five years chairing the museum gala, raising money to build a new public broadcasting television station, chairing this ball and that. The list is long and impressive. It didn’t make me think, however, that what I was doing made me better or more worthy than those who chaired before me or those who would come after. But it sure was tempting. It was tempting to think like the Pharisee. It’s hard to look at a monument you were responsible for getting funded and constructed and not think, “Yea me! I did that”. I do think there is a difference between being proud of what you do, what you give, and where you serve, versus wanting/needing to lord it over others or think that what you did was better than the last guy. A fine line for sure, but a line all the same. I think the difference in which side of the line you are on has to do with humility.

Not that I am all that humble a person. I am truly proud of what was accomplished in Alaska. Not because my name was the one listed as chair or project coordinator, but because of the ultimate benefit to the community. The reality is that I didn’t really do that much. God provided the opportunity, opened the doors and gave me the skills to see the projects through. I was just the vehicle He used to get the job done.

God doesn’t keep a tab of all we accomplish here. So we don’t need to either. Our “tab” isn’t our ticket to heaven. God accepts all of us, whether we build monuments or not. But when the time comes, He may have an extra smile for the humble tax collector.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us see that what we do and what we have are by your grace. Help us to think and be more like the tax collector and not the Pharisee. Please give us the wisdom to understand that being humble is a strength; not a weakness. Amen.