Proverbs 25:1-14
Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
Proverbs 25:6-7
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 a noble.
That sounds an awful lot like what Jesus says in Luke 14:7-11, which Ben just preached on last week. We are told repeatedly in Scripture that humility is a good thing, and that pride and self promotion will ultimately fail. Yet we seem to continually miss the point. Our culture is filled with people always jockeying for position, grasping for recognition and social status. But it is a futile effort. Instead, we need to walk in humility, which Ben defines as “proper self-awareness before the Lord.” Since I can’t say it any better than Ben, you might want to watch his sermon yourself.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 14:11)
Ben’s sermon on humbling oneself was spot-on! I wish I had heard it much earlier in my life! It would have helped to keep my ego in check and saved me a lot of angst and humiliation! We have all felt the need to compete for recognition and relevance, particularly in the business environment. There is so much more to life, and certainly far less worry, when we humble ourselves and work toward common goals – in business, family life, sports, what have you.
Thanks for reiterating this needed lesson!