One of these things is not like the other

(the photo goes with the title, not nessessarily the journal)

I was thinking about the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector this morning, in Luke 18:9-14. Which character do you think would be better to play the part of the Pharisee, Bert or Ernie? Bert, I think, cause he's a stickler for keeping the rules,...though I could also see him as a miser-type taxcollector.You may know the story. The Pharisee would be someone who was a member of "the religious right" of the day. As he prayed to God he said that he was glad he was above the evil actions of other men and then he went on to list for God all the good deeds that he had done. Then the lowly tax collector, who is perceived by the public as the scum of the earth for stealing to make a profit, didn't even look into heaven(as was the customary posture for prayer during that day, at least for those in the "religious right") and his prayer was short, and to the point,...."God have mercy on me, a sinner." This guy would be the permanent closing prayer leader at my church! God acknowledges one of the two prayers,...but it isn't the prayer of the one that most people living then would typically think God would hear. It's an earnest, heartfelt prayer of a contrite heart, though sinful. God hears the prayer of the taxcollector! Now, no one during that time would ever have looked at the two men and said that the Taxcollector seemed to be closer to God. The way the two men live their lives is blatantly different. It was a "no brainer". The Pharisee was "at church" every time the doors were open, but the Taxcollector was most likely NOT there. The Pharisee probably knew the scriptures backwards and forwards, the Taxcollector most likely did not. One had an honorable profession, the other didn't. One did many good deeds, the other fleeced citizens for all he could when gathering taxes just to line his own pockets. Everyone, including us, would have selected the one whom outwardly seems very holy and spiritual. I think one important lesson for us here is that we don't think like God(Isaiah 55:8-9),...and we never will. So, those who seem to us to be the furthest from God, may, in all actuallity, be the closest to God,....and those who seem closest to Him, may actually be the farthest away. What a shocking lesson. What an eye-opening and different perspective this simple story gives us. Jesus is good at that, giving us radical teachings in a simple lesson. Think about how this parable would translate in our American culture today. The people whom we regard as very holy, very Bible knowledgeable, full of good deeds, might not be close to God at all and those who seem far away from God may be closer than we know or suspect. God knows our hearts. So, "judge not, that ye be not judged". For what seems like goodness to us, God may see as a case of doing the right thing for the wrong reason. Altruism is a 50 dollar word that I don't hear too often, maybe because it's scarce. Doing the right thing for the right reason. Be real with your neighbor, and especially God, cause he and Paul Harvey know "the rest of the story". As we stand and as we sing 25 verses of "Just as I Am".