outward appearance, looking the right way, dressing the right way, following the right rules, keeping the right rituals, having your stuff together.

“Look, you are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside. It’s like going to a cemetery when I’m in church, and I see lots of beautiful tombs that are clean, having been painted. Everything looks good, but on the inside it’s full of dead men’s bones and everything is unclean.”

He says to the religious leaders, “In the same way, on the outside you appear… Just looking at you from the outside it looks like you’re people who are righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and you’re full of wickedness.”

For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

the way to greatness is not up ; it’s down. Greatness is not something you ascend to; it’s something you descend to.

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else:

Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector.

The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people — cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

I’m so glad I’m not like the guy who says, ‘I’m glad I’m not like the guy.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’

when was the last time you prayed at a distance ?

“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’

I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had …he gave up his divine privileges; …he humbled himself. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names

God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.