The Wrong Way To Be Thankful
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector." - Luke 18:10
Most of us give a head nod toward giving thanks and praise to God during the holiday season. But Jesus in Luke 18 tells a parable that offers a helpful and necessary correction for us in this Thanksgiving season. Jesus teaches, among other things, the wrong way to be thankful.
Luke gives a prologue to the parable in verse 9, "He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt." Jesus knows the hearts of the crowds and often used stories to expose the truth of their hearts.
Then the parable focuses on the prayer life of two men, a Pharisee and a tax collector (the good old King James would call him a "publican"). The parable continues, "The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’" (Luke 18:11-12)
He begins by looking to Heaven but quickly turns to look to his neighbors. The wrong way to give thanksgiving is to give thanks with comparison. He thanks God he is not unrighteous in his business dealings, his relationships, or his marriage. He even appears to have been a model member of the First Temple of Jerusalem! Yet his thanksgiving came from a heart that trusted in itself.
He doesn't simply pray with comparison, but he also gives thanksgiving with contempt. We don't need Luke's introduction to hear the prejudice dripping from the Pharisee's lips. He isn't like THOSE people. He looks down on others even as he looks up in prayer.
Finally, the Pharisee gave thanksgiving with conceit. He came prideful, boastful, and self-centered. Contrasted with the tax collector, the Pharisee displayed conceit in his thanksgiving. Look at verse 13, "But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’"
Jesus then concludes the parable with a punchline, a statement to sum up and get his point across. Look at verse 14, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The wrong way to give thanks is with comparison, contempt, and conceit. Rather, we are called to give thanks with humility, looking only to the God of grace and mercy, not with eyes on others or on self. Jesus calls His follows, those forgiven and declared in a right relationship with God, the justified. He teaches that the reality of justification is displayed in hearts that give humble thanks.
If we are honest, our prayers often look far more like the Pharisee than the tax collector. This thanksgiving, let us not simply give thanks, but give thanks the right way, with humble hearts. May we guard our hearts from the snare of pride and give thanks to the God of all good gifts.
Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. - Psalm 111:1 ESV