Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.

The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed,
I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest,
or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you
that I am not like that tax collector, over there.

I fast two days a week,
and I give you a tenth
of all my income.

But the tax collector stood at a distance
and would not even raise his face to heaven,
but beat on his breast and said,
God, habe pity on me, a sinner!

I tell you, said Jesus, the tax collector,
and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God
when he went home.
For everyone who makes himself great
will be humbled, and everyone
who humbles himself will be made great.

(Luke 18 / 9-14)