Recently Nicki and I had the opportunity to spend some time in Las Vegas.  We had been there once before, but had spent only one night as were passing through the city on a cross country road trip.  So this was the first time we actually spent enough time there to get a feel for the culture, pace of life, and diversions that make the city a destination for so many.

Even though we stayed at the Flamingo Hotel in the heart of the strip, we were not into trying our luck at the games of chance, or the big name shows that Vegas is known for.  Instead, we went to the classic car museum at the Imperial Palace Hotel (on the strip) and the Atomic Testing Museum (within walking distance of the strip), and thoroughly enjoyed them both.  If you are into cars and make it to Las Vegas, the car museum is a must see.  It has everything from classic Rolls Royces and 1960’s muscle cars, to antiques and a few race cars.  Well worth it!

The Atomic Testing Museum was also very interesting, especially if you are a history buff, or a physics and engineering geek.  We also made side trips to the Hoover Dam, the new bypass bridge (a new major engineering piece of work), Lake Meade, and Red Rock Canyon.

But of course, the major draw of Vegas is the strip and what goes on there, and especially in the casinos and hotels.   You can see all types of people from all walks of life enjoying themselves and indulging in pleasures that are seldom found elsewhere, and are outright illegal in most places.

Coming home from the place, I was feeling somewhat smug and a little self-righteous about spending time there and not partaking of those pleasures as most did.  But then, the next Sunday night, brother Dennis hit me right between the eyes when he taught from Luke 18:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—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.’

 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”