Seeking Humility

God's been showing me this year that Christianity is so much more about an attitude of humility than I ever thought.

Read with me, Luke 18:9-14:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“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.”

I've been dwelling on this parable for about a month now.  I keep asking myself, "Andrew, are you comparing yourself to others?  Do you have a checklist of all the things that it takes to please God?  Or are you standing off, unable to even look at heaven, beating your chest, saying, "God have mercy on me, a sinner!"?"  Seeking a humble life is like seeking a sinless life: the moment you assert that you are humble or sinless, haven't you then violated that goal? It's an impossible goal, but that's just the sort of life that God has called us to live.  We must always seek to be humble before God, and though it is impossible, it is not impossible to strive for humility.