Sunday Reflection (October 23, 2022)
Comparing ourselves to others may bring pride in thinking we are better than someone else, or depression in thinking we are worse than someone else. It is better to focus upon who we are and our strengths, capabilities, and weaknesses. God knows those sins which you think no one else knows, and God knows the sins you would do if given the opportunity. God knows us through and through, our good and bad, our strengths and weaknesses.
Yet have you ever pointed out to God, or someone else, the bad qualities of someone else while not mentioning your own? If we elevate ourselves by putting someone else down, we are not fooling God. Our Scripture Reading is a story familiar to most of us: The Pharisee and the tax collector who go up to the Temple to pray (Luke 18:90-14). Anytime we are convinced that we are more righteous than others, we become self-righteous. We are all in need of God’s mercy! If God is merciful with me, I suspect God is merciful with others. God is far more interested in being gracious than calculating our degree of righteousness.
