The Ground Is Level At The Cross

“For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased (made less important); and he that humbleth  himself, shall be exalted.”  Luke 14:11

Jesus made this statement after telling a parable to a group of Pharisees who had gathered to share a meal at the home of one of the chief Pharisees.  Jesus had been invited to join them which seems like an unusual request of the religious leaders because of the way they felt about Him.  They basically hated Him and desired to be rid of Him.  Perhaps He was invited so that they could trap Him in breaking a commandment which would give them an excuse to accuse Jesus before the people and hopefully turn the common folks against Him.  A hate-filled heart leads people to do or say things that can have serious consequences.  On the other hand, before we accuse them all of animosity toward Jesus, I think there might have been a few who really wanted to dine with Jesus and hear Him as He spoke truth into their lives.  In this life, it seems that we rarely hear of the good folks, only the bad ones.

While Jesus was in the Pharisee’s home, He noticed how some of them were choosing the best parts of the home in which to gather.  For an example, let’s say that some of them who thought they deserved to be exceptionally comfortable went into the family room and sat on the leather sofa and the big recliner beside the fireplace.  Others came into the home, but all the finest seats were taken and all that was left on which to sit were either stools in the kitchen, on the hard brick hearth, or on the floor.  I suppose the host didn’t have any folding metal chairs, which, in my opinion, would be worse than sitting on the floor.  So now that we have set the scene, Jesus came in, looked over the crowd and noticed there was a certain arrogance among some of them, that is, the ones who immediately chose the best seats.  I am guessing that they left no decent chair on which Jesus could sit.  If that’s the case, then they were showing disrespect to Him as He was an invited guest, and hospitality requires that we always reserve the best for our guests.

Jesus realized that this was an excellent teachable moment, thus he told a parable about a man who was invited to a wedding.  He said that the man should not pick the best place to sit because a more preferred guest might show up, and the host might ask the first man to move to a less desirable seat.  That would cause him some embarrassment or anger or both.  Jesus said that a guest should always take the less desirable spot and wait to be called to a better seat.  Of all things, this makes me think about selecting a piece of fried chicken from a buffet.  Most people look for the best and biggest piece for themselves, but those who think about others before themselves will leave the best piece and go for the less desirable piece.  They all taste the same anyway, but it is our human nature to desire the best.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:3 for one not to think of himself or herself more highly than he or she ought to think.  A man or woman’s value comes from who he or she is in Christ and not in a bank account or some worldly position.  After all, we all put on our “drawers” one leg at a time!