Aug 15 2007
God, I thank you that I am not like other men
From 12 Steps for the Recovering Pharisee (like me) (John Fischer), pp. 17-18:
Jesus… read into [the Phrasisees'] private prayers what was really going on in their minds. He knew the condition of their hearts, and his Father had heard plenty of these prayers, if indeed any of them ever made it to his place in heaven. One gospel account has a Phraisee praying to himself, which would have made the prayer irrelevant whether God ever heard anything or not. It wasn’t for God that he was praying; it was for his own benefit. “God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers…” (Luke 18:11-12). I am not like other men. I am different; I am better. It is the creed of the Phraisee to be better than everyone else and to devise means of measuring and comparing that support his assessment. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. Thus the Pharisee establishes an attainable standard that becomes both a measure of personal righteousness and a yardstick for judging others. Certainly the robbers and evildoers and adulterers this Phraisee was referring to were not fasting or giving a tenth.
That’s because the robbers and evildoers and adulterers have no clue that this game is even going on. They don’t care. They don’t associate with the Pharisee any more than he does with them. Most likely they are completely oblivious to the idea of fasting and tithing, and yet they have been judged by their apparent disregard for both in the Phrisee’s mind.
This is one of the great pleasures of passing judgment. It isn’t a requirement to explain either the rules or the judgment to anyone; the fact is, one may raise and lower the bar at will. The purpose of this judgment is not the real betterment of anyone, nor is it to find the truth–to know what the real standard of judgment is and to put oneself under its scrutiny. Its purpose is only to establish a self-defined superiority over others.
We call the shots. We make the rules. We draw the line in the sand and then step over it, leaving everyone else on the other side. It’s a fool-proof way to feel good about ourselves.