NARRATOR: Jesus told this parable to those who trust that they themselves are good but look down on everyone else.
JESUS: Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed.
PHARISEE: I give you thanks, O God, that I am not like everyone else—greedy, unjust, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I pay tithes on all that I get.
JESUS: The tax collector, standing far off, did not even dare to look up toward heaven. He beat his breast.
TAX COLLECTOR: O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
JESUS: I say to you, this man went to his house justified, and the first did not. All who make little of themselves will be lifted up, but all who make much of themselves will be brought down.
Luke 18.9-14