Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, during what has come to be known a Black Friday—somewhere you will see a story about people crashing through the door of a Wal-Mart or other large retailer. Of course, this has something to say about materialism, but it also
has much to say about the lack of humility.
In America we pride ourselves with being first. First through the door on Black Friday, First to get the latest free deal at Chick-fil-A, Dunkin Donuts, or whatever premium that is being offered. It is interesting to note that we are typically first when we can get something free, but we must drag our feet when it is time to serve others.
We treat life as a competition. “He who dies with the most toys, wins!” But he doesn’t the person who dies with the most toys…is still dead! At what cost? Many people die young or are miserable the entire lifetime because they are never content with what they have and who they are.
In our passage this morning, Jesus is going to the house, if you look at verse one, to the house of a ruler of the Pharisees—the legalist ruling sect who tried to follow the law to the letter and beyond. Jesus goes to this dinner and is incredibility faced with a man needing healing, so he heals the man. All of the Pharisees in the room were watching his every move.
This brings us to our focal passage in verse 7.
7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ 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, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luk 14:7-11 ESV)
Jesus tells the people at this dinner and those who read this passage.
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luk 14:11 ESV)
This morning we will look at the topic of humility through Jesus’ words. In this passage, he gives us Practical Advice, teaches us Personal Humility, and gives us the Principle Applied.
As we see from verse 1-6, Jesus is at a dinner party with Pharisees who were watching him carefully as Jesus was watching them all fid their place to sit.
Jesus begins by giving us some “Practical Advice”.
On a regular basis, many of us will walk into a conference room for a meeting and will begin to take our seats. When I was at the Battalion level, the commander would sit in the center of the horseshoe, with the company Command Teams along the sides of the horseshoe. The staff would sit in the cheap seats behind those at the table. This set up has been the same, in various forms throughout my career.
What you don’t see, and if you do it is corrected quickly, is someone who does not belong in those seats sitting there.
Now look at verse 7:
7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, (Luk 14:7 ESV)
Jesus was observing what was going on. These men were not simply unaware of the proper places to sit, they were passive aggressively fighting for the top seat.
You may say, “This doesn’t happen anymore – so we must be understanding this figuratively”. My response, however, is to refer you to the best seats on public transportation, best seats near the drink machine at a fast food restraint, or anywhere you see that a certain position will give someone an advantage over the others.
There you will see a fight to be in the place of honor.
Jesus has some practical advice for us in verse 8.
8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, (Luk 14:7-11 ESV)
Jesus says very clearly “Don’t sit in the seat of honor, lest you embarrass yourself.” At the very surface of this statement-he gives good advice.
No one wants to be embarrassed by others because of selfishly looking to put yourself ahead of others. But it is so ingrained in our culture to get ahead—to find where it is most comfortable.
Listen to these pleases that we have all heard end probably used:
“You snooze, you lose.”
“Nice guys finish last.”
“The early bird gets the worm.”
Jesus offers us a better way to live other than one where we expect entitlements on privilege.
He simply says “Do not do it.”
He then turns his attention to what we are to do, and that is to have Personal Humility.
Look at verse 10
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, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. (Luk 14:10 ESV)
Jesus tells them to sit in the lowest place. Sit in the cheap seats. This is a place of humility.
Humility defined by Oxford is “the quality of having a modest or low view of one’s importance.”
I was reading on the INC Magazine website that” humility can lessen your stress and anxiety” because it “frees you of unnecessary attachments.”
More than anything it is placing others before yourself.
As I searched for illustrations this week under the topic of putting others first, I found many different articles telling people to put others first but few example of ones doing it.
In some way I think this is because many of the examples are so small that they don’t get written about but the do add up. Many times you can read these examples in one’s obituary as the family recounts the kindness to those in the family and the neighborhood.
They are simple little footnotes in history as the family talks about the kindness of the relative as the loved their family and friends, putting them first.
But then you see the heroic expressions.
Like Formula One driver George Russel who jumped out of his car following a wreck to check on another chive who was turned upside-down making sure he was ok, but also to reassure the other driver that there was someone close by.
Or the story I read on Goodable who reported that an Uber Driver, Fritz Sam, noticed people trapped in a burning building. “He pulled over, ran inside, and pulled them out. Then, got black in his car and got his passenger to the airport in time.”
You have your heroes—and they produce god stories, But being humble many times is about it is the simple day to day living that we read about in the obituaries by those who are closest to us.
Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7:12
12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Mat 7:12 ESV)
In order to treat others as we would ourselves, we must not think so highly of or-selves that we in some way deserve better.
Once we come face to face with the reality that because of our sin, we deserve death and hell, as Romans 6:23 spells out, and that the only way to have life is through Jesus that is when we begin to understood true humility.
And this brings us to the Principle Applied.
Look very quickly at verse 11.
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luk 14:11 ESV)
Humbling ourselves means putting others before ourselves.
How do we put others before ourselves?
Practically, I would encourage that we first develop a habit of prayer.
This is not done so that prayer is the end, but prayer as the beginning. If we are aware enough about the lives of those around us to pray for them, we are aware about the lives enough of those around us that we can serve them. We can seek to meet their needs. I believe in prayer and would should pray but this is only the first step.
We can slow down and let people pass—whether it is on the highway or the hallway. Yes, you may be late for a meeting—but your meeting is no more important that someone else’s. If it were, you would have been there earlier. Take time to slow down and look out for the needs around you.
As you are aware, listen.
I was reading an article about listening, by Neerja Birla, that began with these words:
“On any given day, a person speaks anywhere between 7,000-20,000 words. Between texting, tweeting, DMs, IMs, emojis, video calls and chats, we’re clearly saying a lot, how many of us honestly say things that we really feel, and how many times do we truly listen to what someone is saying?”
Simply listening is one of the easiest and best ways to place others before yourself. In our busy world, taking time to stop and listen is critically important in caring for others.
Jesus teaches us to be humble. Serve others before you serve yourself.
If you exalt yourself, you risk embarrassment. If you humble yourself, you risk being honored.
The late Eugene Peterson paraphrased this sentence this way.
“If you walk around all high and mighty, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you are content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.” (Luke 14:11, MSG)
Be content with yourself begins with understanding your relationship with God. The Bible says that all of us are sinners, in Roman 3: 23, and as I stated earlier, the payment for this sin is death.
We have all said things, thought things, and done things that make God unhappy. Our God who is holy cannot allow sin to continue without payment.
Realizing our sin helps us to understand how we are not as good as we think we are.
But God loved us so much that “he sent his son to pay this penalty in our place. So that” whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life.”
Realizing our Savior helps us to understand how precious we are to God-by grace-no act of greatness on our pact. We owe our all to Christ,
Ephesians 2: 8- 9 says
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9 ESV)
Do you have this faith today? I encourage jour to place your faith in Christ today!
When we understand our relationship with God-he mashes this entire passage applicable.
We come to him simply out of who we are “sinners saved by grace” and makes us more than ourselves.
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This sermon was preached at Clay Chapel in Wiesbaden, Germany on September 4, 2023
Photo by <a href=”https://unsplash.com/@fellowferdi?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText”>Ferdinand Stöhr</a> on <a href=”https://unsplash.com/photos/-ruDYbxUJFU?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText”>Unsplash</a>