There is no doubt that the Pharisee had faith because he prayed, it is likewise known that he also had performed many works. The problem is that all his works were rendered useless because of the vice of pride. It is so very true that we can do nothing without God – all the praise and glory belong to Him. We are nothing without Him. If we are honest we must confess that of ourselves we have done nothing. It is God who has inspired us with His grace; It is God who has given us the means and the ability to do these things; It is God who has given us the will to accomplish; and it is God who accomplishes within us all that we do. In this light, we understand that men are nothing without God.
A beautiful analogy might help us to understand our role in God’s plan. In the Divine manuscript of history that God is writing, men are but the pen or instrument that He uses. The pen is not essential – if one pen ceases to work then God will simply choose another and continue His work. If we cooperate with God and allow Him to work through us, He will do great things, but if we refuse to cooperate with the will of God, He will discard us, setting us aside and take up another who will cooperate with His Divine Will. It is not the pen that composes and makes the great manuscript, it is rather God. We are nothing and God is everything.
The Pharisee was filled with pride and attributed all his “good” works to himself. He did not acknowledge God as the author of the good that he did. He had faith and he acknowledged that he owed thanks to God, but at the same time He robbed God of the honour and glory of these works and arrogated them to himself. There are many in the world today who think of themselves along this same line. They think and say that they are good because they have done some good works. They have fasted, they have prayed, they have given alms, etc. They then grow complacent in themselves and their hearts constantly grow harder and harder as they feed the vice of pride within themselves. It is a fearful illusion that they bring upon themselves. They constantly reinforce within themselves the idea that they are good and pleasing in the eyes of God, and all the while they feed and increase their pride and thus grow further and further away from Him.
The Publican, on the other hand, feels no self-complacence. He examines himself and sees nothing good. Every good that he may have performed he sees also the stain that was cast upon the good work by his own sins and unworthiness. In this manner, he grows constantly in humility. There is no doubt that he has performed some good works. The good works, though, are the work of God and all the honour and glory belong to Him. The humble man says within himself, that these good things would have been much better if he had cooperated with God entirely, or if God had chosen a better person as His instrument.
Pride is a lie, and humility is the truth. Very often people present a false humility to attract attention to themselves. There is truth in their unworthiness, but the profession of their abjectness and dishonour does not conform to the pride and vanity that are truly within their hearts. They profess their humility before men to be praised by men. Our Lord says of these that they have already received their reward and have nothing to expect in eternity.
Pride we see is a very tricky vice to overcome, for we can be proud of our “virtues” and in this manner render them vices. This is the tragedy of the Pharisee in today’s Gospel. We must therefore be always on our guard and remind ourselves that we are nothing and of ourselves have done nothing.
Humility, on the other hand, is a very simple virtue because it is the truth. In all humility we give all the honour and glory to God. We truthfully say that if there is any good within us it is in spite of ourselves. All that is evil is our own works. All that is good is the work of God.
In this state, we no longer measure or compare ourselves with one another, but rather measure ourselves only against Jesus who is Truth Itself.