Two ways to pray
The Pharisee and the tax collector
Two men go up to pray. The Pharisee stands and recites his own resume to God — I thank you that I am not like other men. The tax collector, off at a distance, will not even lift his eyes, and beats his chest: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Jesus delivers the verdict that overturns every human ranking: it was the tax collector, not the Pharisee, who went home justified. Then the principle: everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. Pride brings the impressive man low; lowliness lifts the broken one.
“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
— The tax collector, in Jesus' parable — Luke 18:13 (WEB)
Pride lowers you; lowliness lifts you. God exalts the one who knows his need, not the one impressed with himself.
“A man's pride brings him low, but one of lowly spirit gains honor.”
The tax collector was justified because he came in honest lowliness, not self-congratulation. A leader formed here comes to God aware of his need rather than reciting his merits. He resists the Pharisee's quiet self-comparison. The inner work is a lowly spirit that knows its own need.
Lead from an honest awareness of your need, not from a recital of how you measure up. Resist comparing yourself favorably to others as a basis for confidence. Cultivate a team culture of humble dependence rather than self-congratulation. Let the broken and aware, not the self-impressed, be the ones you trust and lift.
Leaders pray and lead like the Pharisee — cataloging their merits and comparing favorably to others — and mistake it for confidence. The blind spot is self-impressed pride that feels like gratitude.
Notice this week where you compare yourself favorably to others. In one such moment, pray the tax collector's prayer instead — God, be merciful to me — and lead from that lowliness.
It is easy, as a leader, to pray and lead like the Pharisee — quietly cataloging how we measure up, how we are not like the others. Jesus says it is the one who knows his own need, not the one impressed with himself, who is lifted.
Which man are you more like before God right now — the one reciting his merits, or the one beating his chest for mercy?