Lk 18.9-14 Oct 26-25 "Faith or Facade? Unpacking Motives in Doing Good"

A Psychologist looks at Scripture

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So, we overhear the prayers of two very different men. One man, the Pharisees has done a lot and includes what he has done in a list expecting I guess to impress God. He was doing okay until he compared himself to the tax collector. The second man, the Tax collector has said little but admits to his wrongdoing and is truly sorry. It must have come as a shock to the first listeners to this parable. There are several points to this story. Appearances can be deceiving. It’s important not to rush to judgement. Also, despite the tax collector’s past he did have one thing the Pharisee lacked and that is the awareness of who he was. I wonder if being aware of where we need to grow and change in our lives is important for the development of our spirituality. I am not talking about being self deprecating but choosing rather to seek self awareness and humility that might be critical in the development of our spirituality. Likely the Pharisee was not aware that he had completely missed the values of the practice of his faith. Because of his lack of self-awareness, it is likely that he will not see the need for personal growth or recognize opportunities in his life to grow.

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