Luke 18:9-14

Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else.  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’  The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’  I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Pharisee actually believes that he makes himself acceptable to God by what he does, and that God is disqualifying others because of what they do. The tax collector understands that he can do nothing to make himself acceptable to God, and is completely dependent upon God's mercy. Our lives produce fruit because of the miraculous work of God in our hearts and minds. No amount of prayer, fasting, scripture reading, or giving is going to qualify me as "good enough" for God apart from His great mercy. We are not saved by our works (what we do), we are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Today, remember your desperate need for a Savior, and set aside any self-righteousness you have picked up trying to serve the Lord by your own standards.