In the Gospel today, Jesus speaks of two people who came into the temple to pray. Both had definite beliefs about where they stood in God’s eyes. One believed that his impeccable religious credentials earned him a place among God’s most righteous and respected sons. The other man believed that his past dishonest and exploitive practices as a tax collector had earned him a front row seat in hell.

One prayed for “the just reward” for his fidelity to God and the other did the only thing that he thought he could do. He begged God for mercy. Neither man received what he thought he deserved. The self-righteous Pharisee left the temple without God’s favor and the public sinner left the temple justified in the sight of God! So much for man’s opinion!

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness. True righteousness means being right with God, or being right from God’s perspective! This means that I will never be right just because I think I am or because you think I am! God alone is the arbiter in this debate.

Therefore if you and I are really interested in being right in the sight of God, then we need to seek out his wisdom, turn to his word, commit to his church, submit to his standards, conform to his will, and follow in Christ’s footsteps. Short of this, our pursuit of true righteousness will be a delusional exercise in self deception that will lead to an unexpected and tragic end.