Youíve seen the ad on television. A man invests in a stock that soars to unexpected values. He runs down the hall and bursts into the bossís office telling him that he quits. When he returns to his desk and checks his computer he discovers that the stock he bought has dropped like a rock. Again he runs down the hall shouting to his boss that he was just kidding.

Some people say some really stupid things. They joke about bombs when going through airport security. They get upset with the power company and cancel their electricity. They tell the police officer that he doesnít know how to operate his radar gun. They call the IRS and request an audit.

Weíve all been there. Weíve all done that. Weíve all said some really smart things and weíve all said some really stupid things.

Jesus told a story about two men talking to God in prayer. The first guy said something really stupid and the second guy said something really smart.

Luke 18:9-14
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody 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 up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.í
"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.í
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Did you notice who Jesus was talking to? This isnít a parable for everyone. It is targeted at a very special audience. If he wasnít talking to you, youíre welcome to skip this part of Jesusí biography. If he had you in mind, listen up. Jesus told this story to "some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else." Wow, I would hate for that to be me. I prefer to think of myself as tolerant and humble, not self-righteous and flaunting a superiority complex. So, itís not for me. And itís not for you, right? Well, letís not be too fast to pat ourselves on the back. Maybe we need to think some more about what Jesus had to say before our self-congratulations begin.

The story takes place at the Temple in Jerusalem. That Temple no longer exists. It was destroyed by the army of the Roman general Titus in AD 70. All that remains are parts of the foundation which are now called the "Wailing Wall." Most of the mountain where the Temple once stood is now covered by a famous Muslim mosque called the Dome of the Rock. But in Jesusí time the Temple was all there, in full operation and the center of religious life for the Jewish people.
Religious people were required to come to the Temple and offer a sacrifice to God once each year. Some came more often. Some came every day. For the daily visitors the custom was to pray there three times every day. The prayer could be private or public.
Frequent visitors were the Pharisees. They were the religious conservatives of the time. They committed their lives to being as Jewish as they could be, attempting to live by the law and do everything exactly right. Maybe today we would call them orthodox Jews or fundamentalists of any religious persuasion. They were very devout.
Infrequent visitors to the Temple were tax collectors. They usually werenít very welcome. Tax collectors got their jobs by bidding for them with the Roman government. Whoever promised to collect and pay the most was awarded the position. The tax collectors made their living getting as much as they could from the people and paying as little as they could to the Romans. The difference was theirs to keep. Pretty much everyone hated them. The Romans hated them for keeping money and getting rich. The Jews hated them for stealing their money and paying the Roman army to occupy their country. It was a very lucrative and a very unpopular profession. So, it would have been an unexpected surprise for a tax collector to show up at the Temple to pray . . . sort of like the most irreligious person you know coming to church and sitting in the front row.

Imagine yourself on a Temple tour hosted by Jesus. As we walk through the Temple courtyard Jesus points out a Pharisee who " stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.í"

The Pharisee had a lot of good things that could be said about him. Actually, he chose to say the good things about himself. When this guy prayed it was more of an announcement to his neighbors than a conversation with God.

He prayed about himself. That doesnít seem too unusual to me. I pray about myself every day. Most people I know pray about themselves on a regular basis. It would seem strange to me for someone not to pray about herself or himself. In fact, in the second half of Jesusí story he commends the prayer of the tax collector and he prayed for himself as well.

Probably a better understanding of what happened is that the Pharisee prayed to himself. His prayer was from him, about him and to him. The Pharisee was full of himself.

It was an inappropriate way to pray. Prayer is supposed to be to God. Prayer is about God. Prayer is for God. As often as we talk to God about our needs and the needs of others, prayers should always be God-centered. As soon as our prayers are more about us than they are about God there is something wrong with the way we are praying. Our prayers should always place God first and seek to honor God in all we pray about.

There is a warning here for us all. When we pray let us be sure that weíre not just talking to ourselves.
Illustration: I often talk on my mobile phone. I try to use my time wisely and seize opportunities to listen to voice mail and to return calls. Several times recently Iíve lost the connection. Once Charleen was driving the car while I was engaged in a conversation where I talked for several minutes before I realized that no one was listening. I was talking to myself. It was a little embarrassing and frustrating on the phone but it is a major mistake in prayer. There is no point to prayer that does not connect to God.
The only way for prayer to connect to God is for that prayer to first be about God and not about ourselves. Our first priority should be him. Our goal should be to please him. God first. Us second.

"The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.í" God already knew all this about him. It almost seems that he was trying to tell everyone else who would listen. He was bragging.

Lest we beat up too much on this Pharisee, I am impressed. He did a lot of good and avoided a lot of bad. He didnít steal from othersóthat is good. He did not do bad things to other people ñthatís good. He was faithful to his wifeóalso good. He fasted twice a weekógood. He donated 10% of his possessions to religion and charityóterrific. You canít help but be impressed with this man. He was serious about his religion and worked really hard to do what was right.
How to you compare?
… Do you steal? Do you take things that donít belong to you from your employer? Do you cheat a little on your income tax returns? Do you steal time at work by doing personal business on company time?
… Do you do evil? How about mean-spirited treatment of people you donít like? Lies that help you but hurt others? What about racial jokes that put other people down?
… Do you commit adultery or other sexual sins? We live in a society that increasingly encourages and condones behavior that God says is wrong? Do you excuse immorality by claiming your right to personal happiness?
… What about fasting? When is the last time you deliberately gave up food for a half day or a day or longer so that you could fully focus on God and prayer? Fasting is a special spiritual discipline that can physically engage us in worship and better focus our minds and souls on the Lord. Have you fasted for spiritual purposes in the past week?
… Have you been giving away 10%? It is called tithingógiving to God 10% of personal income on an ongoing basis. It is an act of worship and expression of faith in God, but it is also a means of helping the poor and supporting Godís work on earth. This Pharisee not only donated 10% of his income but 10% of his net worth. He tithed everything he had.

How do you compare? I hope you compare well. I hope we can all acknowledge that we avoid the sins the Pharisee avoided and we all do the good things the Pharisee did. The truth is that many of us donít come close. We know to avoid sin but we choose to sin anyway. We know the good we should do but we choose not to do it. The Pharisee was a better person than many of us.

His problem isnít with what he did and didnít do. His problem was in his attitude. He thought he was better than everyone else was and he took special pride in comparing himself to others. It was a deep defect in his character. It was a serious sin in his soul. How sad. He so much wanted to do what was right and he so far missed the mark.

It is an easy mistake to make. It is easy to find fault with others and try to build ourselves up by tearing others down. It is easy to feel superior when comparing ourselves to others who donít measure up to our standards and behavior. We like to point out that we have more money, more education, a newer car, a better race, a superior job or a greater spirituality. We like to compete and we like to win. It can feel very good to label others as losers and ourselves as winners.

Next on our Jesus-led tour of the Temple we pass a tax collector. He is harder to see because " 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.í"

Tax collectors were not as common at the Temple as were Pharisees. Maybe thatís why he prayed in a corner, although I suspect that there was probably another reasonóhe had come to talk to God and really didnít want anyone else to hear.

There were two common prayer positions for ancient Jewsóstanding up and lying down. Kneeling to pray would have been unusual and sitting to pray was probably unheard of. Those who stood lifted their heads upward as if looking toward God. Those who laid on the ground kept their faces down in deference and humility.

We donít known the position of the tax collectorís body, but we are told the direction of his eyes. He looked down. Perhaps his eyes were closed. It was the body language of a humble, broken person. He knew he was not worthy of God. He agreed with the Pharisee that the Pharisee was the better man. He was keenly aware of his sins and overwhelmed by them. He was sorry, sad and probably scared. He couldnít think of one good reason why God should listen to anything he would pray.

His sense of unworthiness was so profound that he literally beat up on himself. While the Pharisee symbolically beat up on everyone else, the tax collector literally beat up on himself.

The tax collector prayed the only prayer he dared prayó"God, have mercy on me, a sinner." This man really was praying. He was connecting to God. He saw Godís holiness and greatness and obviously didnít measure up. The Pharisee compared himself to others and came out pretty good; the tax collector compared himself to God and came out a hopeless disaster. He knew he was a sinner and he knew he needed help. He didnít try to buy, impress, earn or trickóhe just prayed the truth, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Jesus saw these two men as symbols of us all. He said, "I tell you that [the tax collector], rather than the [Pharisee], went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
… Interestingóthe "good guy" lost and the "bad guy" won. The Pharisee left a sinner who was disconnected from God. The tax collector left a saint who was connected to God. And, it wasnít just about going home that day. It was about their eternal destiny.
… Jesus was very specific about what made the difference. "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." In other words, those who think that their goodness can make them right with God are tragically mistaken. Those humble enough to throw themselves on Godís mercy and ask for salvation are right on.

There is a spiritual test question sometimes asked to determine the same things Jesus was teaching about in this story. Maybe youíve heard itó"if you were to stand before God and he were to ask you, ëWhy should I let you into my heaven?í What would you say?"

The Pharisee would say: "Iím a good person. I havenít done bad things. Iíve done lots of very good things. So, let me into heaven." God would sadly reply, "Sorry, but youíre not good enough. Youíre not even close. No heaven for you."

The tax collector would say: "God, thereís absolutely nothing about me worthy to get into your heaven. I donít deserve heaven. All I can do in ask for your mercy through Jesus Christ." And God would gladly reply, "No, youíre not good enough, but Iíll count my Sonís goodness on your account. Iíll grant you mercy. You are forever in."

What about you? What would you say? If youíre good, thatís great. Keep it up. But realize that you can never be good enough for God. You need mercy through Jesus Christ. If youíre bad, thatís sad. Stop it. Stop your sin and do what is right. But first of all, ask for Godís mercy. Pray a prayer like the prayer of the tax collector. Right here. Right now. Pray, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I realize I can never be good enough. So, I accept the goodness of Jesus and commit my life forever to him."

If you will humble yourself, pray this prayer and commit your life to Jesus, Iíll tell you what to expect. God will forgive your sin. God will guarantee your place in heaven forever. God will transform your life starting today and lasting forever.