“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” – Luke 18:14 (NIV)

Last night, I had a conversation with some friends about how so many of our struggles with sin trace back to one root issue: pride. Pride is sneaky. It disguises itself as strength, wisdom, and even as righteousness. But underneath, it’s often just self-reliance dressed up to look like faith.

This morning, I woke up and read the verse of the day, Luke 18:14. It’s Jesus wrapping up a parable about two men who went to pray, a Pharisee and a tax collector. (The person who shared the verse this morning suggested we imagine it today as a pastor and a criminal.) One stood tall, listing all his good deeds and thanking God that he wasn’t like “other people” (the pastor.) The other couldn’t even lift his eyes, beating his chest and saying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (the criminal.)

Jesus says it’s the tax collector, the criminal, not the outwardly “righteous” man who went home justified before God.

Here’s the truth that hit me: Pride tells us we can earn our way to God; humility recognizes that we can’t. We use pride in an attempt to elevate us listing good deeds, making spiritual checklists, and by sizing ourselves up against others. But humility brings us down a peg, knowing we’ve got nothing to offer but our need, and that’s exactly where grace shows up.

Pride is at the heart of so many sins because it shifts our focus from God to ourselves. It makes us the standard. It blinds us to our need for mercy, for forgiveness, for a Savior. But when we humble ourselves… when we stop pretending, stop performing, we find that God isn’t asking us to climb to Him. He’s already come down to us in Jesus.

So here’s the questions I’m asking myself this morning. Maybe you feel like you need to check in on your prideful tendencies, too. Are there areas in your life where pride is quietly influencing your thoughts, actions, or prayers? When was the last time you came before God honest, broken, and open to mercy? And how can we practice humility today, not just before God, but also with others?