Poor

Luke 18:9-14
(The Message)

9-12He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people:

"Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: 'Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.'

13"Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, 'God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.'"

14 Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God.

If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

A couple of days ago, I heard one of those mind-boggling statistics on the morning news show.

Over 2.5 billion people on earth today do not have access to flushing toilets, or even sanitary latrines. To give us some perspective, that's over 8 times the population of the United States. It's over 40% of the world's total population.

Then, the amazing thing happened.

Without a hint of irony, the hosts transitioned into a conversation about Halloween costumes for pets and cited another statistic. This Halloween in the United States, more than 7 million people dressed up their pets to celebrate the holiday.

Total sales of pet costumes, just at Wal-Mart and Target, came in at nearly $40 million this year.

Now, if you were one of those 7 million Americans, let me say that my goal here is not just to engender guilt within you, nor to act like I'm above any of this myself. I certainly make my share of unnecessary purchases. Anyone who knows me very well knows that I can spend way more money than I should at coffee shops.

But my goal is to make us think.

Maybe canine costumes and overpriced lattes aren't immoral...maybe...but our ability to buy them for ourselves does carry some spiritual risk, of which we must stay aware.

Our lives in America and throughout the developed world are very different than those of most people who are alive in the world today.

That fact just seems impossible to take in sometimes. We have our problems and struggles, fears and uncertainties. The realities of daily life can make the rest of the world can seem so far away.

Certainly, we would never stand up like the Pharisee in Jesus' story and say, "Thank you, Lord, that I'm not like other people..."

...Would we?

How easy is it for us to realize, in humility, that we must be dependent upon God and not ourselves?

How easily can we say, like the humble, broken tax collector, "God give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner."

When we have nothing...the fact of dependence on God's grace and mercy is readily apparent, and difficult to deny. "Stuff" doesn't really change the fact of our dependence one bit. But it sure can confuse the issue.

Physical poverty is evil, and following Jesus means working on behalf of the poor wherever they are. But spiritual poverty is an even more terrible and prevalent plague in our world.

Let's start this day, not with our "noses in the air," but with our faces in our hands, thankful to God, and humble before him.

Learning to "be ourselves" before God...leaning into his grace, is one of the first steps on the path of life.

Prayer: May we never look down on the people around us, in order to make ourselves feel justified before you. Forgive our self-righteousness, and teach us, in humility to depend completely upon your goodness.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture (no blog) : Psalm 65:9-13

We'll see you at worship at SOTH this week, 9 and 11 AM with Sunday School for all ages at 10:15.