Nagging God?

In the first parable recorded in Luke chapter 18, Jesus does not save the punch line for last.  The very first verse tells us what we need to glean from His anecdote, and that is to pray always and not give up.  But the funny thing – well, at least to me – is that, just like the parable of the shrewd business manager, He uses a judge who’s kinda sketchy.  Our first impression is that God just finally gives us what we want if we nag Him enough.  Obviously, we have to stop right there since God is neither unscrupulous nor does He give in to nagging if something we’ve asked in a prayer isn’t good for us.  The point is that we need to pray constantly…always bringing our needs and concerns and praises before Him.  I Thessalonians 5:17 puts it very succinctly…”Pray constantly”.

The next parable tells us of two totally different ways to come before God with those prayers of ours. Now, I know that our God loves the Pharisee in Jesus’ story, but He is disgusted by the tooting of his own horn and his condescension of a contrite tax collector.  Proverbs 16:5 tells us that, “Everyone with a proud heart is detestable to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.”  Jesus tells us that the Pharisee did not go away justified.  Now remember, justified is a legal term.  An online legal dictionary says that justification is “a sufficient or acceptable excuse or explanation made in court for an act that is otherwise unlawful.”  In the case of the Pharisee, there was no confession, no admission of wrong-doing, despite his arrogant heart.  The tax collector, on the other hand, was totally undone.  He knew he was a sinner and begged for God’s mercy.  The High Court – God – took into account his contrition and he went away justified even though the lifestyle of that tax collector is notorious.  This is by no means a license for us to sin; however, it does demonstrate the attitude we should have when we come before God, the Creator of the universe.