Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Today, on the way to work I had in mind what I was going to post.  I had a photo picked out and had started writing in my head. Then I logged into my inbox at work and had an email that broke my heart. I have already shared that I am part of a group of people who choose to brighten the days of others through sending out cards and well wishes when people need a word of encouragement. These cards can be sent for many reasons and people trust us with the personal information of their friends, family and loved ones.

Someone in our group used this information to send an ugly card to a recipient. They took personal information and used it against someone in need.  To make matters worse they did this in the name of Christianity. This person did not sign the card or put a return address on the envelope. They wrote the most vile things to a person who needed encouragement and hid their identity. 

It is my prayer that this person will come forward and apologise, so our group can move forward.  I also pray for the people who received the card that they will understand that this is NOT how Christian's behave. This is not the behavior of a person who truly loves Christ.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody 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 up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--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 everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 18: 9-14