“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)
Humility isn’t something that is lauded in our culture. In fact, the advent of YouTube, Vine, and other self-promotion avenues on the Internet encourage people to draw attention to themselves. The problem in having the world’s attention is that, when you mess up (which is mostly inevitable), you have a large audience watching.
Jesus suggested that a better strategy is to let others go first. At a dinner table, rather than taking the seat of honor and being displaced when someone more important arrives, wouldn’t it be better to take the lowly seat only to have your host ask you to move up to a better position? After all, when we exalt ourselves, it means much less than when someone else exalts us.
When it comes to being a follower of Jesus, our goal shouldn’t be as much to draw attention to ourselves as to point people to God. Our glory is fading and won’t last beyond our lifetime, but His glory is eternal, and the efforts we make at helping people to see His glory are much longer lasting that the momentary pleasure we attain when we have the attention we want.
Isn’t it amazing to think about the number of self-promoting people who have been humiliated in the public eye? It would be far better for us to simply be humble. We won’t be humiliated, and God gets the glory. What better outcome could there be?
Father, help me to be a shameless promoter of You. Help the frequency of my thoughts focus on You rather than on me, and let me seek true humility in all that I do. May You receive the glory in all things!
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