"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
Luke 18:13-14
This is interesting... that he who humbleth himself shall be exalted, but he who exalteth himself shall be abased. Isn't it staggering how different the world's rules are from God's rules sometimes? Two men go before God, and one is confident in his eternal reward, telling God all the good things that he does, and there are many... and then the man in the first verse here, not even daring to lift his eyes to heaven because he knows he hasn't done the greatest job. Not to be cynical, but which one of these men is going to become the CEO of some major Fortune 500 company? :) And then in this verse, which is justified? The world seems to reward confidence and even arrogance at times, whereas God rewards us for recognizing that we have not attained what we need to attain... that we still have far to go. He definitely doesn't want us to be without self-esteem, but he also wants us to recognize that we are on a journey of improvement, and there is never going to be a point in our lives where we can look at ourselves and say that we're perfect as is. :) We're works in progress... and we don't know everything, hard as that is to believe sometimes. You can't give time limits to God or set a goal to be perfect by a certain day, because God works in his own way and on his own time. We have to keep an open mind, and accept what God has to give when he gives it... because no matter how it works out in our minds, his timing is always perfect.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
Luke 18:13-14
This is interesting... that he who humbleth himself shall be exalted, but he who exalteth himself shall be abased. Isn't it staggering how different the world's rules are from God's rules sometimes? Two men go before God, and one is confident in his eternal reward, telling God all the good things that he does, and there are many... and then the man in the first verse here, not even daring to lift his eyes to heaven because he knows he hasn't done the greatest job. Not to be cynical, but which one of these men is going to become the CEO of some major Fortune 500 company? :) And then in this verse, which is justified? The world seems to reward confidence and even arrogance at times, whereas God rewards us for recognizing that we have not attained what we need to attain... that we still have far to go. He definitely doesn't want us to be without self-esteem, but he also wants us to recognize that we are on a journey of improvement, and there is never going to be a point in our lives where we can look at ourselves and say that we're perfect as is. :) We're works in progress... and we don't know everything, hard as that is to believe sometimes. You can't give time limits to God or set a goal to be perfect by a certain day, because God works in his own way and on his own time. We have to keep an open mind, and accept what God has to give when he gives it... because no matter how it works out in our minds, his timing is always perfect.
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