Are We Really Better Than Anyone Else?
“Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard.” - Romans 3:23
We all have sinned. There is no one that is perfect and has not fallen from God’s holy standards. His laws have been broken from the beginning of creation (Genesis 3:6) – first with Adam and Eve then their kids. Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, committed the first murder by killing his brother (Genesis 4:4-8). If Adam and Eve had listened to God from the beginning, we can only wonder how different life would be like and how it would affect our view of others.
Nevertheless, sometimes we can think we are better than others. Romans 3:23 reminds us that no one is better because we all are capable of sinning. So, what makes us think we are better than others? It can be pride. Pride is one thing God truly dislikes. Proverbs 16:5 states it, “The Lord hates those who are proud.” He is against the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34). Jesus told a story in Luke 18:10-14 of a group of people who looked down on others. The story addresses people who pride themselves on being righteous and how some of the Pharisees believed they were better than others.
“A Pharisee and a tax collector both went to the Temple to pray. The Pharisee stood alone and prayed, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people who steal, cheat, or take part in adultery, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I give one-tenth of everything I get!’”
“The tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even look up to heaven. But he beat on his chest because he was so sad. He said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you, when this man went home, he was right with God, but the Pharisee was not. All who make themselves great will be made humble, but all who make themselves humble will be made great.” – Luke 18:10-14
The Pharisee prayed but his prayer was about boasting of his own moral and religious achievements. He did not see himself as sinful but compared himself to others in the community and prided himself on being better. The frequent use of “I” reveals the true state of his heart as conceited and self-sufficient. The tax collector was different; he was humble and confessed he was a sinner who was unworthy of anything from God. That is true righteousness that comes from a humble reliance on God's mercy and not on self-righteousness like the proud Pharisee who listed his good deeds. The tax collector was humble and begged God for mercy which demonstrated that God justifies the repentant and humble heart in someone and not the self-exalting person.
Therefore, how can we believe that we are really better then someone else if we depend on God's mercy to help keep us humble instead of being self-righteous.
