YOUR PLACE AT THE TABLE
Humility is a virtue that has become misunderstood and somewhat trampled upon in modern culture. Some in our society tend to label a lack of humility as confidence. Others see any hint of bravado or pride in one’s abilities as distasteful or pompous. The extreme positions can easily encourage people to gravitate to a position of feeling less than or more than others around them. Neither position is healthy, and God does not call us to either form of humility. God calls us to a humility where we understand that who we are and what we have is a blessing from Him and that He is God and we are not. When Jesus is speaking at the dinner of a Pharisee in Luke 14, he addresses the issue of those who are nearly void of humility. Here the issue is not seeing one’s self as worthless, but instead seeing one’s self as exalted above all others. Jesus watched as those present at a dinner party jockeyed for positions at the table. He begins explaining to them the need to be careful with where one sits because someone else of greater status may make them move, and that could be a source of great embarrassment. Before Jesus completes his lesson for those present, he suggests that future dinner parties should not include only those who jockey for status, but the true guests of honor should include those who have no means of paying back the favor: the poor, crippled, lame, and blind. These are the ones who God favors for they have no earthly status. For them, humility is a natural by product of their position in life. For those who are currently at the party, humility is a virtue they must learn and cultivate in their lives.
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