Sinners Anonymous
I think about the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee a lot (Luke 18:9-14). It’s so easy to vilify the Pharisees. To see them as the villains of the New Testament. But the reality is these would have been the most highly respected people in Bible times. The people who knew God the best knew His will the best. In contrast, today, we view them as the people who completely missed what God was doing.
In this parable, the Pharisee judges his righteousness based on his actions and by comparing himself to the tax collector. Again, from our perspective, it is easy to see the folly of the Pharisees. We sit here, and we thank God we are not the Pharisees, but the reality is we are the Pharisees. The moment we slip into comparison as our judge for righteousness is the moment we fall into the same trap.
Often times we look at our lives and think, “Oh thank God I am nothing like Jan down the street. She’s one messed up cookie.” We look at Jan and see all the horrible things she does, and we think, “whelp, at least I’m not as bad as her.” (I apologize to all the Jans out there. I’m sure you’re not that bad. LOL.) The problem is we are just like Jan! We are no different. We have somehow decided that our sins are not as bad as others. We look at the world around us and think we are on the right side. We are condemning the right things and calling out the right injustices. We think, “Thank you God that I am so enlightened” and just like that, we are the Pharisees.
Knowing Jesus is not understanding how evil the world is. Knowing Jesus is coming face to face with my sin. The Bible says we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That means your little white lies, gossiping tongue, private lust, unforgiveness, and hate are just as much of an affront to God as all of the other sins you thank God you’re not struggling with. The reality is we all grapple with sin. And just like God doesn’t accept the sins of this world He doesn’t accept our sins either. Coming face to face with Jesus is coming face to face with our sinfulness and understanding our own need for repentance.
If you understand your own struggle, you are willing to walk with others who struggle. We must understand that we all struggle. Somehow in the church, we present ourselves as if we have it all together. As if we have overcome every one of our hurdles. But the reality is we haven’t overcome anything. It is Christ who has overcome sin, and it is His righteousness we must cling to. We have no righteousness apart from Him. When you don’t think you struggle or aren’t willing to admit to the struggle, you usually aren’t willing to walk with struggling people. Jesus said he didn’t come for the healthy but for the sick. The church is not meant to be for just healthy people. The gym is not just for people in peak physical condition. Struggling people belong in the church. Because the reality is this…we are all in the same boat. We all have a sin problem and the only cure is Jesus.
AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) is a beautiful thing. They are a group of people struggling with a specific problem, and they meet regularly to give each other support no matter how many times you blow it. They are open and honest because they are all in the same boat.
We are all in the same boat. We can’t do anything to save ourselves from our sins. Only Jesus can save us. So we must realize that we are all struggling people without Jesus and have no hope. This doesn’t mean we accept our sins. It means that we understand we all have sinned and the only cure for that sin is Jesus. Let’s invite those who are struggling to walk with us.
