Attitude!

Attitude!

Luke 18:14 KJV

[14] 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.

Jesus was speaking in parables to both the disciples and the crowd at different times in His earthly ministry. Today's extract is one of such parables too, but this time, He was addressing those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. The quick lesson for me here is the realisation that I cannot deceive God with outward piety that is empty of inner conviction. I can keep up appearances, and pretend that all is well, but I must know that I deal with a God of total and absolute knowledge, who cannot be deceived. He is the Creator of men and their hearts, and He is yet to make a person or thing that He cannot control. This is one of the fundamental questions that must be answered by me, as I seek to see God move in my life. 

We see two men go up into the temple to pray, which, at least, showed an understanding of the need for God in their lives. That is also quite important. No one is self-sufficient; we all need the help of the divine to successfully navigate the intricacies of the human experience. No matter how old you are, the devil is older. No matter how smart you think you are, the devil has long been at work even before the account of the creation of the earth was documented. He knows how to distract, deflect, discourage, disappoint and disturb a man's peace. He can raise a man's ego to the point where the man does not even realise he has lost connection with the One he is claiming to be praying to. This is the danger with practices, without the accompanying conviction. 

Both came to pray, but only one left fulfilled. Both followed the convention, but one was tied up with just keeping up appearances, but no true heart conviction. Both offered up words of prayer, and if you were watching, you would have thought the first one spent 'quality time' because he spoke longer, but with God, length is not more important than depth. The other man knew he was the product of mercy only, not merit. He knew he stood where he was, simply by grace, not personal grandeur. If only we knew and understood our limits, we will not struggle with pride or inflated egos. At the end of the day, no other person's opinion mattered, except the One to whom both men came to pray to. His view was that the other man, with less words but a humbler heart, was more justified than the one with more words but a heart of pride. Don't let the views or words of men keep you from seeking the true God. Don't let the distractions of the devil keep you from accessing the deep riches available in Christ. All He is and has are for us. Claim them. God's time of favour is here.