Do Not Put Yourself Forward in The King's Presence or Stand in The Place

8 "When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down
in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him;
9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, `Give place to
this man,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.
10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when
your host comes he may say to you, `Friend, go up higher'; then you will
be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For every
one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will
be exalted."
Luke 14:1, 8-11
Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place
of the great; for it is better to be told, "Come up here," than to be put
lower in the presence of the prince.
Proverbs 25:6-7
What is true humility and why should we make it a characteristic mark of our
life and action?
True humility is NOT feeling bad about yourself, or having a low opinion of
yourself, or thinking of yourself as inferior to others.
True humility frees us from preoccupation with ourselves, whereas a low selfopinion tends to focus our attention on ourselves.
Humility is truth in self-understanding and truth in action. Viewing ourselves
truthfully, with sober judgment, means seeing ourselves the way God sees us
(Psalm 139:1-4).
A humble person makes a realistic assessment of himself or herself without
illusion or pretense to be something he or she is not.
The humble regard themselves neither smaller nor larger than they truly are.
(Oct 31, 2015)
Daily Reading & Meditation

Monday (October 19): Storing up true riches
Scripture: Luke 12:13-21
13 One of the multitude said to him, "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me." 14 But he said
to him, "Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?" 15 And he said to them, "Take heed, and beware of
all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 16 And he told them a
parable, saying, "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; 17 and he thought to himself, `What shall I
do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' 18 And he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build
larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have
ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.' 20 But God said to him, `Fool! This
night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 21 So is he who lays
up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
Meditation: Have you ever tried to settle a money dispute or an inheritance issue? Inheritance disputes are
rarely ever easy to resolve, especially when the relatives or close associates of the deceased benefactor
cannot agree on who should get what and who should get the most. Why did Jesus refuse to settle an
inheritance dispute between two brothers? He saw that the heart of the issue was not justice or fairness but
rather greed and possessiveness.
Loving possessions rather than loving my neighbor
The ten commandments were summarized into two prohibitions - do not worship false idols and do not covet
what belongs to another. It's the flip side of the two great commandments - love God and love your neighbor.
Jesus warned the man who wanted half of his brother's inheritance to "beware of all covetousness." To covet is
to wish to get wrongfully what another possesses or to begrudge what God has given to another. Jesus restates
the commandment "do not covet", but he also states that a person's life does not consist in the abundance of
his or her possessions.
August of Hippo (354-430 AD) comments on Jesus' words to the brother who wanted more:
Greed wants to divide, just as love desires to gather. What is the significance of 'guard against all greed,'
unless it is 'fill yourselves with love?' We, possessing love for our portion, inconvenience the Lord because of
our brother just as that man did against his brother, but we do not use the same plea. He said, 'Master, tell my
brother to divide the inheritance with me.' We say, 'Master, tell my brother that he may have my inheritance.'
(Sermon 265.9)
The fool who was possessed by his riches
Jesus reinforces his point with a parable about a foolish rich man (Luke 12:16-21). Why does Jesus call this
wealthy landowner a fool? Jesus does not fault the rich man for his industriousness and skill in acquiring
wealth, but rather for his egoism and selfishness - it's mine, all mine, and no one else's. This parable is similar
to the parable of the rich man who refused to give any help to the beggar Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich
fool had lost the capacity to be concerned for others. His life was consumed with his possessions and his only
interests were in himself. His death was the final loss of his soul! What is Jesus' lesson on using material
possessions? It is in giving that we receive. Those who are rich towards God receive ample reward - not only in
this life - but in eternity as well.
Where is your treasure?
In this little parable Jesus probes our heart - where is your treasure? Treasure has a special connection to the
heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our
highest treasure. What do you treasure above all else?
Luke 11:52
52 Woe to you lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not
enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.
Luke 11:45-46
45 One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, in saying this you reproach us
also." 46 And he said, "Woe to you lawyers also! for you load men with burdens
hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your
fingers.
Mathew 18:4
Whoever humbles himself like this child,
he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven
The appetite for glory and greatness seems to be inbred in us. Who is the greatest
in Gods kingdom? The one who is humble and lowly of heart who instead of
asserting their rights willingly empty themselves of pride and self-seeking glory by
taking the lowly position of a servant and child before God. (August 11, 2015)

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8 "When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down

Daily Reading & Meditation

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