To those who think they are a good person, Jesus has a parable for you.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

One of the biggest hindrances to a genuine walk with the LORD is to believe we are good people. And the reason we think that is most people try to live according to principles. But the comparison of good comes with one another. We think we are good people compared to others. But how good are we compared to God?

Notice the first guy. He compared himself to other people. And he used his religious good works to show himself as favorable.

That’s a deadly combination.

But the other man he compared himself to God. He had no good works, religious or otherwise, in which to justify himself. He threw himself on the mercy of God.

That’s what it comes down to.

There are only two faiths in the world. Only two.

The first one is the type of faith that tries to receive eternal life through good works. This encompasses many faiths.

And then there’s the faith of the followers of Jesus. Our good works do not save us. God had to come and save us. And we receive that salvation through humility and recognizing we are nothing before God.

Good works then come as a result of salvation. Not as a means to salvation.

We must humble ourselves before God. We do not come to him with clean hands, pure hearts and holy eyes. We have sinned. Recognizing our sinfulness before God and reaching out to Him keeps us humble before God. And no room for boasting between each other.

The good news is that when we humble ourselves in Him, we find mercy and grace through Jesus Christ.

“he who humbles himself will be exalted.”