That was a prayer of prideful self-righteousness. The Pharisee saw himself as greater than other men, as if he were sinless--and thanked God for this. He was exalting himself before God.
But the tax collector asked for mercy in his prayer because he knew he was a sinner. He was humble before God.
At the end of that parable, Jesus said, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
My Study Bible notes have comments about this parable: "The Pharisee did not go to the temple to pray to God, but to announce to all within earshot how good he was. The tax collector went recognizing his sin and begging for mercy. Self-righteousness is dangerous. It leads to pride, causes a person to despise others, and prevents him or her from learning anything from God. The tax collector's prayer should be our prayer because we all need God's mercy everyday. Don't let pride in your achievements cut you off from God."
The Pharisees memorized the Scriptures, but they did not apply them to their lives. They just thought themselves better than everyone else for their knowledge and had no love for others. That's not what Jesus was teaching.
Does that help clear things up, sis? Have a Blessed day, Sisygirl! Hugs!
I am not looking for a gigolo. It's not talent that I want. It's a True Christian male--the rarest sort, the one who believes and follows the guidance in the Bible (aka, will wait until our wedding night to make love). I am not interested in just ANYone.
I think you misunderstood what I was asking for in my thread. I don't want MORE men reading my profile, I want the RIGHT guy to read my profile. I'm weeding OUT the secular types who are not living out their faith. And, yes, I am SERIOUS about what I am looking for, not trying to add to the pool of guys messaging me unnecessarily.
I was only asking for tips from guys on how to get guys to actually read my profile.
No worries. I'm already celibate, staying pure for God's sake. Have been since I left my husband back in July, 1994.
If my profile wasn't clear, I am looking for a man who is willing to wait until the wedding night. I'm weeding out the secular types who don't believe, nor follow the Bible.
The only guys who message me are the scammers or those who haven't read my profile. That pretty much covers the single males on this site.
I'm only changing my profile so often because men apparently aren't reading it, so I've been trying different things to motivate them to read it. Apparently, Dunravin says guys don't care to read. Oh well.
Yeah, a lot of the guys in my age range have 'let themselves go' and don't seem interested in attracting an available female. They don't appear healthy enough to survive beyond maybe 5 or 10 more years.
This concerns me because my first marriage only lasted 2.5 years, and I'd like a chance at a life-long marriage, not the guy dying on me after only a few years. I've already been alone for a very long time (my heart takes a long time to heal after being crushed).
I am just so fed up with receiving messages from guys claiming they want to 'get to know me,' when they haven't taken even the FIRST step in that direction by reading my profile. I find their messages, and their lack of interest in who I am, hurtful and insulting.
Makes me feel like this entire endeavor is pointless because no man cares about who I am; they only care about my appearance.
This is so disheartening, it makes me want to give up and leave the site because it's not producing any desired result.
That's why I started this thread, to get input on what I have to do to get someone to read my profile.
Thank you for your lovely input, sis! Hugs and Godly blessings to you, Sisygirl! :angel:
I think it was also clear that 32 folks viewed this thread, yet I only received 2 responses, and one was from a female friend. LOL!
Wow. Doesn't give me much hope of ever hearing from the 'right' man, since guys don't read profiles. Maybe I should take my pics down, to force them to read. LOL!
Then again, I probably won't get any views at all!
I have a bit of a dilemna. I keep getting messages or winks from men who have obviously not read my profile.
I've changed my profile intro several times, yet this problem persists. I am constantly having to tell these guys to go back and read my profile.
Could some of you please read the first few paragraphs of my profile and then come back here and tell me what you think? Will my newest edit work to get guys to read at least a few paragraphs?
I'm thinking the length of my profile might be a daunting prospect for most guys to commit to reading the whole thing, so I thought maybe, if they only had to read the first few paragraphs, they would make the effort.
What do you guys think? I need input! :winksmile: Thank you all, in advance.
Personally, I would love to be pursued...but only by the right man. LOL!
That said, most of the guys who initiate contact aren't after me; they're after my money (scammers).
The others have not read my profile, or did not take it seriously, so they are NOT the 'right men,' for various reasons. I've had to block a few of those, actually. LOL!
However, I have taken the initiative several times, usually to comment on something I read in the guy's profile (not necessarily to start a relationship), and have received replies in every case except one. But he had not been online in a while, so I figure he must have been in a relationship already and was ignoring the site (was not on CDFF).
I don't have a problem being the one to start a conversation, because I don't expect every conversation to blossom into a relationship. I think there is a lot less pressure when all I'm trying to do is illicit a response to my comment--which is often a compliment on his creativity or humor.
Girls, don't be afraid to say something to the guys on here, if you are so inclined. Even to ask why a guy why he put up an angry-looking photo of himself, Sisygirl ;-) You're not committed to the guy if you just say, "Hi."
Just make it a positive encounter, and you will likely receive a positive reply in return. It could change your perspective about him.
