The Pharisee and the Publican by Keli Horn Tipton

The Pharisee stood in the temple,
He held his head up high,
He cleared his throat loudly, looked around,
Then lifted his arms to the sky.

At the same time, another was present,
A tax collector was there,
He stood at a distance and listened,
As the Pharisee began his prayer...

"Most Gracious and Almighty God,
I thank you that I am so good!
I'm not like all these other men.
I fast twice a week like I should,
I don't steal, and I tithe every Sabbath,
I've never been a debtor,
I'm better than adulterers,
And even this tax collector!"

Ashamed to approach the temple,
His soul weighted down with sin,
The tax collector hung his head,
And quietly began...
"God I am a sinner,
As wicked as one can be,
But I want to repent from all my sin.
Dear God, have mercy on me."

The Pharisee left the temple,
Still lost in self righteousness.
His sin could not be justified,
He had exalted himself.

The publican left the temple,
Stripped of any pride,
Yet God had answered his prayer,
And he was justified.

The humble will be will be exalted,
Lifted up by the Lord,
But the man who boasts of himself,
Already has his reward.