Why the “Blind Pharisee”? Part 2

Besides the shallow and formalistic approach to God, I had the following characteristics. I thought I wasn’t all that bad and somehow merited God’s favor. I secretly thought I was “better” than other sinners. See Luke 18:9-14.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’