Be Humble

"Do not exalt yourself in the king's presence, and do not claim a place among his great men; it is better for him to say to you, 'Come up here,' than for him to humiliate you before his nobles." (Proverbs 25:6-7) These verses admonish us to avoid self-exaltation and presumption. It is better to be humble and be honored by others than to be humiliated. Those who exalt themselves and expect/claim places of honor for themselves will most likely be met with humiliation and disappointment. "When pride comes, then comes disgrace." (Proverbs 11:2a) Haman was a classic example. These verses reminded me of what Jesus says in Luke 14:8-11, "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, "Give this person your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Motives matter! God looks at the heart. If your reason for taking the lowest place is: desiring/hoping to be moved up by the host to a better place, it is false humility and it's not what Jesus was talking about. Pretending to be humble is wrong; it's still pride which is sin and it's also deceit which is another sin. True humility is honoring others above selves (Romans 12:10) and putting others above selves (Philippians 2:3). In love and humility, we see others as worthy of preferential treatment and we want the best for them. True humility is about self-denial. "Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights." (John R. Wooden) Do not exalt yourselves in the presence of King Jesus, either. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time." (1 Peter 5:6) "Wisdom's instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor." (Proverbs 15:33) "Humility is the only certain defense against humiliation." (Unknown)