Remember the parable Jesus told about the Pharisee and the tax collector at prayer in the temple?

According to this post at the Neuroworld blog, the parable’s warning about the damaging spiritual consequence of moral self-satisfaction is confirmed by modern psychological research. 

In the parable, the Pharisee was full of self-congratulation about his spiritual condition as he prayed. But Jesus said the Pharisee was separated from God by his pride over his moral probity and his observance of the letter of the Jewish religious law.

The humble tax collector, in contrast, was so aware of his shortcomings before God that he didn’t even raise his eyes as he beat his breast and prayed, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

Said Jesus, “I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

This conforms with a new study published in Psychological Science magazine, according to Neuroworld’s Ryan Sager.

“You might expect that being prompted (primed) to think of yourself as a good person would make you more altruistic or moral — but, in fact, the exact opposite appears to be the case,” Sager summarizes about the study found. “Primed to think about what a good person you are, your most likely reaction is to think you’ve paid your morality dues and go on about your business.”

Sager posted about the study on April 22 and situated its findings in the context of the annual Earth Day celebration.

He points out that many prominent environmentalists, such as Al Gore, appear to see no contradiction between their own luxurious lifestyles and the self-sacrificing green ethic that they promote for others.

This also conforms with the research published by Psychological Science. In a follow-up to their initial study that found that people who regard themselves as being altruistic actually are less likely to engage in charitable actions, the researchers asked study participants to pay to control pollution from a manufacturing plant.

Those participants who were primed with positive words about themselves before being asked this question “chose the less-altruistic option: to pollute and maximize profit,” Sager notes.

“And, if you’ve replaced every bulb in your home with a compact fluorescent, you’re more likely to forget about the impact of flying around on a private jet (celebrities only),” Sager comments.

“Now, I’m of the opinion that most ‘green’ personal choices are already completely about moral vanity — their scale makes them meaningless while endowing the environmentalist with a great sense of self-worth,” Sager adds. “So, the real effect of Earth Day, I think, is for this smugness to get a significant one-day boost.”