The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector was one employed by Jesus to teach humility and demonstrate the futility of self-righteousness. The two men had engaged in prayer. The Pharisee rolled out his credentials before God. His fasting life and how he had religiously given his tithes to God. He then took a swipe on the Tax Collector, representing a class of people treated with scorn. When time came for the Tax Collector to pray, it was a self-effacing moment. “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’” Luke 18:13 NKJV. It was the man that was looked down upon that went home justified.

” As long as you think you are good enough, you will never see the need to run to the Saviour for help. We are nothing without the Lord. We can achieve nothing without His help.”

Charles Spurgeon made an insightful comment that can help sum up the foregoing. ‘’There is nothing which prevents a man coming to Christ like a good opinion of himself’’. How true! The Pharisee had such an impressive record of himself; and that was his undoing. As long as you think you are good enough, you will never see the need to run to the Saviour for help. Herein is a subtle danger of motivational talks. Most people who specialize in this promote self-esteem. This is done through affirmative statements of our abilities and visions. Unless we tie all these to the Lord and, like the psalmist, make our boast in the Lord, we will be heading to crises. We are nothing without the Lord. We can achieve nothing without His help. We must come to terms with what Paul said that in our flesh dwells no good thing. Such frame of mind will drive us to the throne of grace regularly; and when anything positive results we will have no problem returning the glory to God.