When a person invites you to a wedding, don't sit in the most important seat. The person may have invited someone more important than you. And if you are sitting in the most important seat, then the person that invited you will come to you and say, 'Give this man your seat!' Then you will begin to move down to the last place. And you will be very embarrassed. Therefore, when a person invites you, go sit in the seat that is not important. Then the person that invited you will come to you and say, 'Friend, move up here to this better place!' What an honor this will be for you in front of all the other guests! (vv.8-10)
Jesus wants us to give up on our self-promoting ways. He calls us to be humble and then let God do the exalting. We shouldn't be surprised when the apostle Paul held Jesus up as the perfect example of humility—didn't cling to position, emptied himself of self-promotion, was obedient to God the Father even unto death, and God exalted Him at the proper time (Phil. 2:5-11).Pride is destructive, selfish, and poisonous to Christian service and maturity. Let's humble ourselves before God and trust that He will lift us up.
The Truth: "For whoever exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 14:11)
