Revisiting the parable of the tax collector
It is inevitable that during an election year in the United States, partisan absolutism tends to dominate the news, fear-driven advertisements, and seemingly unendingly negative mailers. As in many past years, approaches to crime dominate the partisan political propaganda with each part simultaneously denouncing the failures of the other, while uplifting why their absolutist approach is best for the citizens. For Christians considering the election decisions, perhaps it would be good to heed the wisdom of Jesus as revealed in Luke 18:9-14 and James 1:19.
In this brief passage in Luke, Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee and a Tax Collector. The Pharisee is very confident, authoritative, and proud of his standing before God. On the other hand, the Tax Collector is very humble and confesses his sins before God.
Although the implications of this parable are very broad and vast, it can be very directly applied to the modern criminal justice system and subsequent political approaches in America. Many politicians representing both sides of the political spectrum are essentially no different from the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable. They are so proud of their own pronouncements and records on crime and quick to disparage the other side’s presumed flawed, failed, and inappropriate perspectives on crime, they want everyone to know how awesome they are and disgraceful the other side is. The Pharisee says, “I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.”
Yet, the Tax Collector, which is synonymous with all the bad things that so-called “good people” are expected to dislike, is far more honest with God in the parable. This undesirable rogue to good society stood apart from the others, would not even look toward heaven, but beat his breast and called out to God, “Be merciful to me, a sinner!”
The problem with modern partisan politics and the absolutist division it necessarily forces on voters is that power, not people, is the driving force. As the left-right divide manifests itself as an either-or reality, it also divides people into absolute good and bad categories. When it comes to crime, it necessarily determines in absolutist terms who deserves redemption and who deserves condemnation. It ends in fervently demanding that one side rules all, and the other perspective has no value in dealing with crime. It also assumes that all criminals fit into a singular framework with no opportunity to be seen any other way. Such is not the way of Christ!
Jesus concludes the parable by saying, “I tell you, the Tax Collector went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
In the complicated and challenging field of criminal justice, the lesson for Christians is clear. Dealing with the reality of crime in our modern world is not as simple as walking in blind lockstep with a partisan platform on crime. Rather than assuming that any single candidate, party, or propagandized platform promoting fear should the other side win, has ultimate authority or credibility concerning crime, Christians need to humbly and faithfully pray. None among us are without sin. The reality is, not everyone is a criminal and not every criminal is deserving of eternal condemnation—not by God, nor by a flawed, politically driven, and highly inequitable criminal justice system. When it comes to crime, instead of buying into partisan propaganda, perhaps Christians would do well to heed the wisdom of James 1:19 and be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to answer, as well as Jesus who calls for humility and honest confession rather than arrogant pronouncements of our own righteousness.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Revisiting the parable of the tax collector
