He who humbles himself

So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” – Luke 14.7-11

Just suppose you invited to a dinner and somehow you got the impression that you  were going to be the guest of honour. You get to the dinner and say your hellos and pass the time. Eventually they call the guests to dinner and you walk up to the head table and sit down. The host is obviously uncomfortable and says ‘uh, excuse me, that’s not your seat. I need you to move to the other end.’ Then he calls the other guest and puts him where you had sat down.

Embarrassing, huh? Jesus uses that as a warning for those who are so proud of their own way that they won’t humble themselves to accept Jesus’s offer of salvation. Some assume that is they are good enough or religious enough or give enough or whatever they are going to get a spot at the heavenly table. Pride destroys the eternal hopes of far too many people. Anybody who humbles himself in this life will be exalted in the next and those who exalt themselves in the this life will be humbled in the next.

Any who think they can be good enough to go to heaven on their own need to think again. It is going to mush worse than the embarrassment of being moved from the head table.