To Be, You Must Do

“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. For everyone who exults himself will be humbled, and he who humble himself will be exalted. (Luke 14:10-11)

Humble is both an adjective and a verb; it is something you are as well as something you do. If humble is what you want to be, the humbling yourself is what you must do.

Jesus used the occasion of a dinner party to emphasize the importance of being humble. Having accepted an invitation to eat in the home of a leader of the Pharisees and noticing the haughty approach the other guests took in choosing their seats, Jesus spoke words of rebuke, correction, and instruction. He ended with the clear warning chat humility does come to all eventually, but those who choose it for themselves escape the shame and pain of a crashing ego.

Many of us have to be humbled (verb) in order to be humble (adjective). Why? Because each time we try to humble ourselves, we are sparring with a fallen nature that is used to getting its way.

We often resist the opportunities God presents us for humbling our-selves, like those who saw themselves worthy of a seat of honor. Christ disapproved of their haughtiness, knowing that in their case it was the very thing that kept them from believing in Him. Pride always blinds us to the spiritual riches that are in Christ.

Your Life in Action:

What circumstances has God brought into your life recently that He might be using to humble you?
 

Devotions from: Life in Action-365- Day Devotional from Life in Action Ministries