The Jerk“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:11-14) The 1979 Steve Martin comedy The Jerk directed by Carl Reiner is about a white idiot who is the adopted son of a black family from Mississippi who gets exploited. The jerk is an annoyingly stupid or foolish person. But for some of us, a jerk is someone who believes he is better than everyone else and is intentionally cruel, mean, or selfish resulting in inconvenience at the least or harm in the worst. A jerk sees himself as the center
of the universe and some even acts as the master of the universe. When
the jerk encounters anything he does not like he takes it out on anyone
or anything that happens to be nearby, including the dog. The Pharisee
is a prime example of a holier-than-thou jerk believing he is far better
than anyone else. We would like to have him in our churches because
he does not do a Kobe, an OJ, or engage in public sinfulness other than
pridefulness, and he even tithes. Copyright © 2003 Eddy Ministries. All rights reserved. Subscribe/Unsubscribe: eddyn@earthlink.net
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