Luke 18:9-14 (NIV) To some
who were confident of their own righteousness and
looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:
10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I
thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adul-terers–or even like this
tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth
of all I get.' 13 But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but
beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14 I tell you that this man, rather than
the other, went home justified before God. For
everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he
who humbles himself will be exalted."