Religion over Relationship (The Pharisee and the tax collector Luke 18:9-14)

Religion over Relationship (The Pharisee and the tax collector Luke 18:9-14)

I have been in the workforce long enough to know that you have several different types of employees who work alongside you. Everywhere you work you are going to have some people who just do not care about their job and could care less if they continue to work there or not. You have people who are there just for a payday, they do everything by the book they have to do but absolutely nothing extra, they are sticklers for rules and procedures so they know what they can get by with. Then you have good employees who love where they work and love the people they work with; they are willing to do what every it takes to see the company is successful even if it means inconveniencing themselves to do it. In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector we see that the tax collector was not so much interested in pleasing God as He was into making sure that he was only doing what he had to do. He was paying his tithes, fasting twice a week, and living a clean life so he knew he was doing what was expected of himself to meet the proverbial job requirements. The thing that he lacked was a sincere love for God, a willingness to submit to the creator and humble himself before the Righteous and Holy One. The tax collector did not have everything together on the surface of his life, but He knew this and all he wanted was to ask God for mercy and help along the way.

The way we approach our spiritual walk with God is a lot like the ways people approach their jobs in this world. Some people simply do not care and then there are others who are sticklers for the rules, and they follow them by the book. The problem is that their hearts are not set on following God, they are set on following rituals, commitments, and the standards of men. The Pharisee thought that if he did the things, he was supposed to do that he was in good standing with God, He did not understand that God values relationship over religious commitments. We cannot earn good standing with God, because our very best we have to offer is not even close to the standards of God. Our only hope is the mercy and grace of God, and this is what the tax collector understood that the Pharisee did not. A relationship with God is not about legalistically and meticulously making sure we are doing certain things; it is about setting out every day to please the one we love more than any other. Our love for God drives us to do good things but love is the driving force not our own self will. We all need to examine our hearts and make sure that we are not just living our spiritual life as a good employee who does what it takes to get by and make sure that our hearts are tied to God and His grace and mercy.