Jesus told many parables to teach us about living in the kingdom of heaven.  The most important lesson that He wanted us to learn in these parables was that heaven is not just a place. Instead, the kingdom of heaven is about your heart, and obedience is not just about actions. It is also about your heart.  Too often, we assume that Jesus wanted us to “be good” in the manner that we learned from our parents and teachers when we were young.  Just follow the rules and answer the questions correctly.  However, Jesus is not satisfied with outward obedience.  He wants our hearts.  If He has our willingness to enter a relationship with Him, He can transform us so that our obedience to the “rules” is not a habit or out of fear.  Instead, it is a natural reaction to the love that He is pouring into us. 

Jesus knew that too many people who are “good” are play-acting a role that makes them feel superior rather than loving.  Their “goodness” is actually selfishness.  They are so full of their own accomplishments that they have no room for a Savior.  They are so self-satisfied that they cannot see their own shortcomings and so sure of their own ability to follow the rules that they never realize that they have corrupted the rules in order to fit their own definitions of “good.”  Jesus wanted people to understand that they needed to focus on Him rather than their own accomplishments, so He told a story about two men who prayed.  In this story, only one man spoke with God.  The other was bragging to God.

Here is my understanding of the story:

One day, two men went to the same place of worship to pray to God.  One was a religious man.  He knew how to pray because he prayed to God all the time.  He had heard many other religious people pray, so he was confident that he was doing it right.  He knew how to please God.  In fact, he did all kinds of righteous stuff that ensured that he was in God’s good books.  He knew that God was happy with him because he was a pillar of his community of like-minded followers of God, who spent their lives being “good” just like he did.

And then there was the other man who went to pray that day.  Earlier in his life, this man had decided that money was more important than anything else in his life.  He did not care that in the process of obtaining money for himself, he was harming other people.  He did not care that he was dealing with bad people and participating in cruel activities to earn his money.  He did not care that many of the people he grew up with hated him.  He figured that if he had money, it would not matter what other people thought.  He could always buy himself some new friends.  Because of his decision to focus on money, he lied and he stole from people who could not afford it, as well as rich people.  He cheated whoever he needed to, and he accumulated the money that he had dreamed about for so long.  He did not care that he had sacrificed his integrity and thumbed his nose at God for that money.  At least, he thought he did not care, but one day something happened to change all that.

Jesus did not tell us what made this man’s heart open up.  Maybe, someone he loved from his past died.  Maybe, he started a family and realized that he wanted a different life for his child than he had chosen.  Maybe he just realized how empty his riches were.  Or maybe, the Holy Spirit had just been picking at him and picking at him until gradually over a period of time, he had realized that he was under the condemnation of God.  Whatever the trigger, one day he realized that he had wasted his life.  He wanted something different, something more.  He wanted to be forgiven.  He was a smart man even though he had made some stupid choices, so he knew that there was only one place to go . . . God.

Here’s the story that Jesus told:

Two men went into the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood over by himself and prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not greedy, dishonest, and unfaithful in marriage like other people. And I am really glad that I am not like that tax collector over there. I go without eating for two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all I earn.”

The tax collector stood off at a distance and did not think he was good enough even to look up toward heaven. He was so sorry for what he had done that he pounded his chest and prayed, “God, have pity on me! I am such a sinner.” Then Jesus said, “When the two men went home, it was the tax collector and not the Pharisee who was pleasing to God. If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.” (Luke 18:10-14)

When most Christians read this story, they focus on how bad the Pharisee was.  He was a hypocrite, yes, but if we think that his sins were worse than the tax collector’s, we would be mistaken.  The tax collector had truly been a bad man.  Put it this way, if they were both sitting in a waiting room with me and I had to trust one of them with my purse, I would be confident that my money would still be in it when I came back if I left it next to the Pharisee.  With the tax collector, probably not.  At least, not before this day in the temple.

No, the problem with the Pharisee was not that he was a bad man.  His problem was that he was so full of himself that there was no room for God in his heart.   The Pharisee was so busy patting himself on the back that he did not think that he needed anything from God. On the other hand, the tax collector knew that he had nothing to bring to God.  He was a liar and a thief.  He had broken God’s rules again and again.  He knew that the only hope he had was God’s grace.  He went to the temple to beg for mercy, and something beautiful happened.  He was forgiven!  He opened up a place in his heart for God, and God came in and filled his life with beauty and forgiveness.  On that day in the temple, something changed in the life of a truly bad man.  He repented, and God had mercy on him. 

What does the Bible mean by that word “repent”?  It means to turn away from sin, and when we do that, we are turning toward someone; we are turning toward God.  The second we turn to God, He extends mercy.  The message that Jesus wanted all of us to understand in this story is that He does not care how bad you have been in the past.  He just cares that you want to have a relationship with Him now.  If you come to Jesus and open your heart to Him and invite Him into your life, He will be right there with you. 

However, I believe that there was a secondary message that Jesus was teaching through this parable.  I think that He was showing those of us who think of ourselves as “good” that our self-satisfaction can interfere with our ability to connect with God.  The message was not that God only likes people who feel bad about their lives.  Instead, the lesson was that God wants people to look to Him rather than looking down at others and looking up at themselves.  If we ourselves are the highest standard that we see, we will never gaze higher to God’s standard.  If we only compare ourselves to other people and feel satisfied that we measure up well, we will not feel the need to open our hearts to our heavenly Father.  The parable was not about bashing “good” people; it was about breaking through our stereotypes of good and bad so that we will look to our Savior for affirmation rather than to ourselves or other people. 

In short, there were two lessons in this parable (at least).  The obvious lesson is that it does not matter how “bad” you have been; the moment you turn to God for mercy, you start on a journey of intimacy that will last forever.  The less obvious lesson is that it does not matter how “good” you have been.  If you are focused on your own righteousness and other people’s bad choices, you will never attain intimacy with God.  Whether you think of yourself as good or bad, never let anything or anyone distract you from turning to Jesus for affirmation, guidance, and intimacy.  When you go to a place of worship to pray, remember who you are praying to. When you make choices in life, remember why you are being “good.” Don’t forget that the kingdom of heaven is not just a place, like a temple or church.  Heaven is a relationship with our Savior.