Luke 18:9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 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. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13 "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.'
14 "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."
Pride and arrogance sometimes seem to make us feel stronger and better...But this better is often at the expense of others as we see here in the Parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector...And this sense of strength is quite deceiving...Pride is found in the evil one, so pride and arrogance has made us stronger in evil, and the arrogance has made us stronger in our selfish feelings and we have less to give of ourselves, because of this selfishness...As we read the Parable, as we are confident on our own righteousness, we often look down on everybody else...
And everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted...