“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted…” Luke 18:14
Recently, I felt compelled to learn how to tell the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Rohingya. Around the same time, in a lesson with my language helper, she told a parable from her culture about selfishness. I asked her if she thought being selfish was a sin. She responded that it’s simply human nature, and selfishness is only a sin if acted upon.
As the conversation continued, she gave examples of how people act selfishly in outward and sinful ways. Comparison is common in Rohingya culture. We talked about how we are all prone to think the “little” sins in our hearts aren’t a huge deal because we see the “big” outward sins of others. It’s easy to call murder a sin, but bitterness toward a friend who hurt you feels justified.
I shared the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector with Rita and talked about how we often reassure ourselves by comparing ourselves to others, thinking, “Well, at least I didn’t do what so-and-so did!” However, this parable teaches that the heart humbled in repentance before God is truly forgiven, while the prideful heart of comparison remains in sin.
Rita listened and agreed. She loves swapping parables and stories from our holy books. Recently, a friend and I had the opportunity to share the Good News with Rita during a language lesson, and she asked to hear it again! In our conversations, it is always clear that she is wrestling to reconcile what she believes with what we believe, and we are asking Jesus to meet her in this wrestling.
- Pray for the Holy Spirit to bring humility and repentance in the hearts of Rohingya everywhere.
- Pray for Rita to have spiritual eyes to see and believe the Truth she has heard.