S72P7 – A friend of God: not self-exalting

Luke 14:8-11

When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.  But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

The crew leader was in charge of his job for the day, but he certainly was not the boss by any means.  His title was one of responsibility, making sure the job was completed and done correctly.  However, his experience made him think he was much more than his position.  In his eyes, he knew a lot more and a lot better than everyone else. Whenever a new guy started, he took the time he should have devoted to training and spent it telling the story of how he came to be so good at what he does.  What resulted was a crew of workers who could barely get the jobs done and who relied on him for just about everything.  As his poor leadership was revealed, he would lose what little authority and title he had.

There is something very comforting about having God himself as our friend.  We live in a world in which people are perpetually trying to build their identities and become someone who stands out.  There is a reason why the terms “first-class” and “VIP” exist in our lexicon.  People are striving to separate themselves from the pack and reach a higher standing.  The comfort we get from God is that we do not need to worry about defining ourselves.  We do not need to worry about establishing ourselves in any certain class or position.  God does all of that for us. As friends of his, we are to consider ourselves lowly and last.  Then, our great friend will exalt us in his good timing and judgment.  The friend of God will not seek to exalt himself.

As God’s friends, our goal should be to exalt him and not ourselves. Although we are more than proud to call him our friend, we do not lord that over others.  We recognize that we are no better than anyone else. Everyone starts off as an enemy of God’s.  If we are looking to find reasons to say that one person is better than another, then we do not understand the condition we share as fallen people.  Friends of God know that only He is worthy of being held on high by mankind.  If we are to be elevated to any position of importance or prominence, let it be by the will of God himself and not by our egos.  Father, continue to instill in us the humility to know that we should not seek to honor ourselves but leave it to You to honor us according to your will.