Self-Righteous Post

We often lack the background to understand nuances from the first century. Here is an example that relates to my theme of the proper use of wealth. Luke 18:

 ^9-12He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: 'Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.'

 ¹³"Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, 'God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.'"

 ¹⁴Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

There are several things here. First, I have seen these verses used to justify self-righteousness. That was not what the writer thought he was doing. The writer was saying that since the Pharisees observed the Sabbath, that anyone who observed the Sabbath was self-righteous. This ignores the point that both men in the story were Jews who followed the customs of the Old Testament—remember, they were observing rituals in the Temple. Luke 18 does not provide us with any information on the subject of the continual validity, or non-validity, of the Sabbath command. 

That point aside, how does this story relate to theme of wealth I am exploring? 

The man who God forgave was wealthy, among the most wealthy of that time, the 1%. 

We know this because he was a tax farmer. The Romans did not want to be bothered with collecting taxes from subject peoples. So they would sell the right to collect taxes to locals. The locals would bid on this right to collect taxes from their own people. Then they would collect from the people. As you might imagine, this profession was not well received. 

The point is that one can be wealthy, and be a true worshiper of God. In our unfortunate desire to use Luke 18 to condemn others, we overlook this. The wealthy can be condemned by the self-righteous. 

Tomorrow I will continue talking about wealth by talking about another tax farmer mentioned in the Gospels, a wee little man.