NOTES for Luk 18:10-14
Still, what exactly is the self-exaltation Jesus is talking about with regard to the Pharisee? Is it bad to keep the commandments and be a religious person? In itself, obviously not, since even the Savior does not condemn the Pharisee; He only says that the tax collector, who has nothing to say to God except words of repentance, is more righteous before Him than the Pharisee, who is ready to list his religious successes and achievements. But the problem, as one can see, is not religiosity as such, and not even that it allows one to look down on a sinner, but that it, paradoxical as it may sound, can sometimes distract a person from God.
In fact, the very fact that the Pharisee, standing in the Temple before God, thinks and speaks about himself, about the tax collector standing nearby, about his religiosity - in short, about anything at all except God - can be considered a spiritual failure, at least in that particular situation. Of course, one failure does not cancel out the Pharisee's achievements, but on that specific day he spent his time in the Temple without any spiritual benefit. And paradoxically, it was his own religiosity that brought him to this result.
But the tax collector did not spend his time in the Temple without spiritual benefit: he did not evaluate either himself or others. He simply communed with God. That turned out to be enough, because God does not need us to evaluate anyone at all. He Himself knows the worth of each of us. We need only look at Him. And then there will be no one before whom we can "exalt ourselves."