It's been said that pride is the only disease that makes everyone sick except the one who has it.

Illustration: Our friend Tom and Irene moved to Charlotte, NC in 2000. After settling in, they visited a popular evangelical church where the pastor had reached celebrity status. During his sermon he shared an experience he'd had. Earlier that week, the pastor had spoken to a number of seminarians. The seminarians confessed to this pastor that they had cheated on some of their assignments and their conscience was bothering them. The pastor ended the story with this application. "Aren't you glad you have a pastor that never cheated in seminary?"

Sometimes God's people can be proud and haughty.

Recently I read about a man who was struggling with homosexuality. He struggled with his sexuality like we struggle with bitterness. It was an ongoing battle. This man knew he needed the help of the church, so he began looking for a parish to attend. His search was longer than he expected. Finally, he met with a priest that gave him hope. The homosexual said to the priest, "I'd like to become a member of your parish, but there's something you should know. I struggle with homosexuality." The priest looked at him and said, "You want to become a member? Okay, first you'll need to attend a class on the church and the sacraments." The homosexual began to sob, "You don't know how many ministers I've talked to who rejected me."

Sometimes God's people can be arrogant and proud. This morning I want to look at the Gospel lesson and consider the marks of a proud person. What does a haughty person look like?

Mark verse 10, where we're told, "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector." He enters the temple to pray and give thanks to God. This tells me he understands the importance of prayer. Proud people are often faithful in attending divine worship. The house of God is important to them.

In verse v11 we read his prayer. "God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers." He is a man of personal ethics. He's faithful in his business dealings and possesses an unswerving allegiance to his wife. Ostensibly, he loves his neighbor as himself. He is a bulwark of Biblical ethics, a paragon of virtue and a respected member of the community. Now notice v12 where we find more references to his relationship with God.

¹²I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  His zeal for God is not only fleshed out in his relationship with his neighbors and wife but in his private acts of devotion. His spiritual disciplines include fasting twice a week and giving tithes on all of his possessions. Both his public and private worlds are in order. Outwardly, the proud person often possesses impeccable character.

When we read his spiritual resume, and scrutinize his personal discipline, we're humbled. We all wish we had this kind of discipline. He's the type of fella you would want to baby sit your kids. But we shouldn't judge this book by it's cover. He's not what he appears to be.

Illustration: Do you remember one of the final scenes in Frank Baum's children classic, The Wizard of Oz? Near the end of the film, Dorothy and her friends bring the witch's broomstick to the wizard and ask that he grant their requests. As the wizard stalls for time, Toto pulls back the curtain revealing that the magnificent wizard is nothing more than a man who has everyone fooled.

This is a brilliant example of the proud person. He's not what he appears to be. Lamentations 3:22 "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed." It is only by the common grace of God that he was able to do those things. But somehow, in his preoccupation with himself, he became convinced that he was responsible for his good works. He'd forgotten the penetrating question, "What do you have that wasn't given to you?"

Let's pause for a moment and scrutinize this guy. He could easily be the author of The Pharisee's Guide to Total Holiness. Let's take another look at the marks of a proud person.

The attitude of the Pharisee is one of self-trust, self-righteousness, and contempt for others.

Proud people often focus on visible deeds rather than the heart. Proud people have a difficult time understanding that all Christian are a work in progress. None of us have arrived yet. Instead we're on a journey toward Christ likeness.

Now mark the fact that, this proud man used a cultural standard of holiness to judge himself and others.

This man thought in terms of "crimes" rather than in terms of "sins." Swindlers, unjust, adulterers, and tax-collectors were all looked upon as "crooks." Once again, human standards are in view. He had a cultural standard of holiness. The things which the Pharisee looks down upon as sin are those things which society shuns as unacceptable (cf. Luke 16:14-18).

Illustration: Dave Redmond saying, "My grandparents were real Christian people. They didn't drink. They didn't go to movies."

The Pharisee boldly approached God, seemingly without regard for His holiness or with a sense of his own unholiness. He almost seems to expect God to be grateful for his presence and prayers.

The Pharisee thanked God for nothing other than what he was, in and of himself. There was no mention of God's graciousness, no realization of having been blessed by God. All this Pharisee thanked God for was that which he had achieved for himself.

Transition: Who does this man remind us of? He reminds us Lucifer who said,
"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. ^[3]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High."
¹⁵ But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit."

Illustration: Milton's Satan, "I'd rather rule in hell than serve in heaven," and "Evil be thou my good."

Luke 18:14, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

This man reminds us of Lucifer, and he stands in stark contrast to the tax collector and all other who humble themselves before God, including our Lord.

Philippians 2:8-9 "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! ⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.