Humility

And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this man,' and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. "But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher;’ then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 14:7-11 NAS95

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Romans 12:3 NAS95

“Setting at the foot of the table first seems to be as arrogant as setting at the head of the table.” What? Once again, a conversation started with me not fully engaged. “Isn’t setting at the foot of the table as arrogant as setting at the head of the table? In the parable where the guy sets at the head of the table, would not just going and setting at the foot of the table be as arrogant as setting at the head of the table? I was just thinking about your book and the things that disturb me when I read the Bible.”

The previous paragraph is a synopsis of a conversation I had with a friend a couple of days ago. At first, I didn’t think too much about it, but then it started to niggle away at my brain. I have known the truly humble, Brother Moe in Omaha, and Uncle Everett from Dallas, however, I have also known the arrogantly humble. No need to name any names here. I think of the matchmaker from Fiddler on the Roof when I think of false humility. When we read the Romans passage we are instructed to not think we are better than we are, yet some have taken this passage along with the primary passage and gone to the extreme, ultimately leaving everyone with a bad taste in their mouth.

Then we are faced with the challenge of self-esteem. We are told from the pulpits to act like children of the King, and the minute we do someone is there to remind us to be humble. God requires three things of us, Love Mercy, do Justice and walk humbly with Him. But, Moses tells Israel you are the head and not the tail, see the promise of God from Deuteronomy below:

"The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, Deuteronomy 28:13 NAS95

I have met the self-important, and I am not impressed by them. I have met false humility, and again I am not impressed. I have met very important, powerful, men and women, who were humble and caring, and I am impressed. For me, the real struggle is where do I sit at the table. Am I a head, or a tail? Am I something between? The Deuteronomy passage suggests I am a head, and the James passage presented here suggests I should act like a tail to get God’s grace.

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:6-10 NAS95

Confused? I am. But maybe not as much as you might think. I get it. We are to be humble. Jesus says

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 NAS95

Notice what He said about Himself! Gentle and Humble. The King James Version used the words meek and lowly. I like both, meekness and gentleness. My thoughts are they are similar but not the same. I need to research which is more correct and why the translators made these choices. But it is neither meekness nor gentleness we are focused on, it is humility. The King James Version used the word “lowly” instead of humble. Lowly speaks to me of being humbled by life and circumstances, leaving a lack of self-worth. That is not whom I see Jesus as, I see humility but more like the powerful, who has time for the least, without grandstanding. I see it as the rich and powerful, who stop and buy a child an ice cream cone while no one watches, and the person who volunteers and asks nothing in return, these are “the” humble. Humility is my friend Robert, who went and tended to victims of AIDS, when there is no treatment and succumbs to the disease himself, but works until the day he passes caring for others, just so he can share the Love of God, and His Son Jesus with the patients.

I don’t care where I sit at the table, just so I am found worthy to be at the table. I will not force my way to the table, I will work to earn a place, and be thrilled I got the invitation. Humility will lead us to be a servant to those around us.