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NASB | Luke 18:11 "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 18:11 "The Pharisee stood [ostentatiously] and began praying to himself [in a self-righteous way, saying]: 'God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men--swindlers, unjust (dishonest), adulterers--or even like this tax collector. |
Subject: Would this be biblically accurate? |
Bible Note: "something much deeper is going on with these kids on a subconcious and/or unconscious level" Hi, Reighnskye! Sadly, there's very little going on, subconsciously, on much of these youths... this is precisely the problem! They are being bombarded by a slew of egocentric superficial values that assaults them from left-to-right, even while on school grounds! The “pretend-to-help” Talk Shows have had their fill of child-on-child and child-on-adult violence... most of these "test" cases evolved around the old she said/he said or she thinks/he thinks attitudes... these are kids who are growing up in household of caring parent/s and are simply playing “follow the leader” as they subject themselves and others to all sorts of denigrating behavior--all of it due to judgment! As television programs and movies portray the superficial values as the best an only acceptable "goods" in society we will continue to witness "judgment" as society’s currency... ...of course, I am not denying that there are legitimate occurrences where people harbor deep-seated resentment, founded on negative past experiences, which causes them to not only unjustly judge others but also themselves... yet, for the largest part, these are in the minority... You only have to go to a public movie theater to witness just how morally bankrupt our society is becoming... I mean, when people, as a group, cheer for those characters that are gratuitously killed or abused... how can anyone expect those particular member of the audience to have sound ego and not be judgmental in society at large? And these distorted values are being fomented in all levels of society... have you noticed the latest television commercials? Advertising geniuses are selling egocentrism as the apex of a "feel good" or "too bad for them” culture… I mean, there’s even one commercial where a woman begins her presentation as a benevolent person who does not wish her suffering on even her worst enemy… only to back-step and profess that yes she would wish it on her enemy! With such values flooding the minds of people on a daily basis, is it any wonder that even the young among us are judgmental of everything and everyone, including their own parents? “To think that kids are violently assaulting each other on the mere basis of obtaining a pair of shoes” Perhaps I did not explain myself well enough… I am not suggesting that kids are assaulting each other because they want to obtain (rob) something the others have… I am saying that if you use public transit or you gather in public environment most of the conversations is about “this person said” “this person thinks…” Even when on the cell phones--they speak loud enough for all to hear--you can hear their concern about who wore what and how tacky or how they have to show them… there used to be a time when young people were concerned with meeting the right girl/guy, getting the grades, improving their personal skills… now it is about outshining or outwitting those who they consider a lesser person than themselves… Jesus commanded the disciples (which would be all Christians) to think of themselves as less than others (the servant of others)… if we learn to humble ourselves we would not judge others but see them as equal! On the other hand, society is bent on teaching us to egotistical and to judge all others as a lesser person than ourselves--how can a undisciplined (in Scripture) mind not end up but judging others as inferior to itself? So… my argument is that the largest portion of people who judge others do it not because of some deep-rooted feelings but out of the cultural values that they are exposed to on a daily basis! God Bless! Angel |