Humility
I must not see myself as more important than others. That kind of pride will get me nowhere in God’s world.
Jesus challenges me to be content with myself. I should not try to be someone I am not. Others will see through me. More important is that God knows. I can’t fool him.
I should always treat others as more important than I am. God is the one who bestows honor, not me. God is God. God is in charge. I am not.
He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honor, he said, “When someone invites you to dinner, don’t take the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. Then he’ll come and call out in front of everybody, ‘You’re in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.’ Red-faced, you’ll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.
“When you’re invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then when the host comes he may very well say, ‘Friend, come up to the front.’ That will give the dinner guests something to talk about! What I’m saying is, If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”
Then he turned to the host. “The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God’s people.
~Jesus — Source: Luke 14:7-14 (The Message Bible)
Jesus has a way of being clear. He leaves no doubt. In God’s world, God comes first. That is all there is to it. I can’t negotiate with Him. God is God. I need to get clear on that.
