“[7] But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”” – 1 Samuel 16:7 NASB
I think we’re all familiar with the parable of the two men praying in the temple. Luke 18 tells us the account where Christ told this parable. Notice carefully who God was more pleased with.
“[9] And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: [10] “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee stood and was praying these things to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ [13] But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ [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 he who humbles himself will be exalted.”” — Luke 18:9-14 LSB
This parable is a more detailed example of what God told Samuel in 1 Samuel 16. While God does, to a degree, care what you’re doing in His name, our “good deeds” do not bring us closer to Christ. Our good works do not make us better Christians. God told us thru Isaiah that our good deeds are less than useless, they’re actually disgusting.
“[6] For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” – Isaiah 64:6 NASB
Look back at the Pharisee in Christ’s parable in Luke. He’s done a lot and he’s proud of it. He fasted twice a week, which was their tradition to fast on the 2nd and the 5th days of the week. He gave tithes of all he had, which was also their tradition. Anything they bought, they brought a tenth of it to the temple to give it to God. Everything right down to the spices or anything else really small. It would be like me buying ten sets of chopsticks, keeping nine for myself, and giving one to the church. Some probably bought rice, counted out how many grains of rice they got, and then counted out one tenth of them to give to the temple and the priests. OK? They gave tithes of everything they owned. Christ didn’t continue with this part of the parabel, but in a very real sense, I can imagine someone going on and on and on for several minutes just listing their “credentials” for why and how they’ve earned God’s love, blessings, and affection. But I’ll tell you something here. It’s all worthless! God is not pleased by outward actions, if these actions are done to earn His love and good pleasure. Rather, God is pleased by good deeds and biblical obedience that comes about as a result of a closer walk with Him.
Our words are always an outward expression of what goes on inside our minds and hearts. The words that the Pharisee used showed his inward heart of pride and self-righteousness. God sees all that as disgusting, disturbing, and less than useless. It’s just a useless ornament sitting over your fireplace. It’s an absolutely horrendous piece of cloth that any good homeowner would take outside and burn in the backyard. Those are your good deeds. Those are your best efforts to please God. They disgust God.
In the next room, the tax collector used words to reveal his inward heart of humility, shame, and a true recognition of God’s glory and power. This is the heart attitude that God is always pleased with. A heart that sees God’s glory and power as greatest above all others. A heart that recognizes how sinful and depraved we truly are.
We need to stop trying to please God with our actions. “Oh, if only I could build better life and devotional habits, God would be happy with me.” That’s the wrong outlook on it. Try this instead, and I’m preaching to myself here too. “God, I know why I don’t have better habits. I know why I don’t give you more attention. I don’t place high enough of a value on your glory. Humble my heart, change my mindset so that I see a higher value in your glory and I then want to spend more time in Your word. Change my heart and my mindset to something You are pleased with.” When my heart is in a right relationship with God, that’s when I will want to fast and pray twice a week, that’s when I will want to give tithes of everything I own, that’s when I will want to do a lot of good things. Not because I’m trying to please my God, but because these are the right things to do. These actions will be done to show the world the change that God has done in me. It’s a revelation of a changed heart that God is pleased with.
David, in 1 Samuel, had a right heart before God and God chose him to be a great leader in His ultimate plan. The tax collector had a right heart before God, and God chose to forgive him of every sin he had ever committed. And in heaven today, David is singing praises to God alongside a tax collector who confessed his own sin to God and was forgiven. I know the account in Luke 18 is a parable, but there are former tax collectors and former IRS agents (for the American readers) in heaven. They’re singing and worshiping God alongside King David, and the prophet Samuel, and the Apostle Luke, and everyone else who ever came before God with a right attitude of humility. Will you be there?
Maybe you’re already a Christian, are you living rightly before God, or are you overly proud of the good deeds you’ve done in God’s name? Recognition of God’s glory and our own ineptitude is necessary to a right relationship with God. We live rightly thru God’s grace and strength, not our own.
0 Comments