Humble Yourself

Luke 14:7-11 - So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  

Don’t know why the thought of humility came to mind this morning. It just did.

Jesus was all about humility. He didn’t need to be grandiose in His preaching. ...but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:7) He knew who He was. One of the messages He preached was humility, as did God in the Old Testament.  Remember, He was so humble and cared so much for others He chose to die for our sins. That is the greatest act of humility. To die to self. What we are called to do daily when we choose Christ. 

Being in a humble place in life may not always feel good if our pride gets in the way. We can, however, become humbled but if we are humble to start out we can be raised up. If we are children if God we may not see this raising up until way in the future but it shouldn’t stop us today. Waiting on God is one of the things we do most! 

Do we think of others before ourselves or is it all about us? Do we shove that grocery cart down the aisles cutting people off or go barging through a store as if no one else exists? Do we take the prominent seat at a table and leave the lesser seats to guests? I’ve been guilty at times. Though nothing may happen at the moment, God sees. 

Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of the great; for it is better that he say to you, “Come up here,” than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whom your eyes have seen.

(Proverbs 25:6-7)

Being humble is not being walked over. It is a choice we make. Oh, there are times when it can feel irritating, especially if we are with someone who is always first to do. There are times it’s nearly impossible to beat them to the punch!

This humility is our being Christ-like. We are called to use Jesus as an example. This is for me too! Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. (Philippians 2:3) It is not debasing ourselves to prefer someone else over us. It’s humility, a trait God prefers! Even if we might be in a greater position in life or job or church. 

I look at our pastor...he may be the shepherd of the flock but he’s always available to fix a roof or even a church toilet, both, and certainly more, of which he’s done. 

It does not hurt to be humble, except it can hurt to have one’s pride besmirched. Shove that pride in a back pocket sometime and see how it feels. You might be surprised. Just as Jesus humbled Himself for us, we are asked to do the same...not only for others but for Him. 

Philippians 2:8-11 - And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.