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Chapter 3 - Dinner - Honor
Luke 14:10-11
10 But [alla] when [hotan] thou art bidden [kaleo] , go [poreuomai] and sit down [anapipto] in [eis] the lowest [eschatos] room [topos] ; that [hina] when [hotan] he that bade [kaleo] thee [se] cometh [erchomai] , he may say [epo] unto thee [soi] , Friend [philos] , go up [prosanabaino] higher [anoteros] : then [tote] shalt thou [soi] have [esomai] worship [doxa] in the presence [enopion] of them that sit at meat [sunanakeimai] with thee [soi] .
11 For [hoti] whosoever [pas] exalteth [hupsoo] himself [heautou] shall be abased [tapeinoo] ; and [kai] he that humbleth [tapeinoo] himself [heautou] shall be exalted [hupsoo] . KJV-Interlinear
10 'But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. 11 'For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.' NASB
This is the unchangeable policy of God - He is forever abasing the proud, and giving grace, honor, glory, and promotion to the humble.
Prov. 25:6-7
6 Do not claim honor in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of great men; 7 For it is better that it be said to you, 'Come up here,' Than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen. NASB
'Humility is the passport to promotion in the spiritual realm, in the kingdom of God.'
Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
These are the basic truths of life, but now exactly who are the humble and who are the proud? In short the humble is anyone who is advancing consistently in their spiritual life. And the proud is anyone who is not.
That is the simple explanation and now we need to understand that, what you think is really what you are. So what exactly do you think, or more importantly what is the pattern of your thinking?
Your thoughts are limited to whatever it is you learn in life. If Bible doctrine is a part of your learning process then you have access to the spiritual life. If Bible doctrine is not a part of your learning process, then your spiritual life is lacking if it exists at all.
Truth comes only from one source and that source is Bible doctrine. Pride has its roots in the worldly views which surround us everyday. The foundation of pride is the lie, or the absence or compromise of truth. Anytime we take Gods Word and rearrange its meaning, ignore its meaning, make changes in how we interpret its meaning which serves our convenience, then we are pursuing the lie. That means that pride in its many forms is taking root in your soul. Pride is any distortion of truth.
We see pride in many forms. Examples: We shack up together instead of getting married - that is a distortion of the marriage concept. Subtle but still a distortion. Homosexuality is a definite distortion of the natural relationship between male and female. Taking the position that ones does not need God in his life is an illusion and a distortion of truth. Where else will you get truth about life? Not being charitable as one is expected to be charitable. Ignoring Gods counsel which only comes from the study of the Word of God, and so forth. You can probably fill in many more examples of where Gods principles of life are changed or disregarded and thus equate to arrogance.
Of course more dramatic examples are pursuing other religions, crime, cults, and the like. Anytime you get away from God, then you are by default engaged in arrogance. And arrogance is Satan's pattern of thought - the rejection of Gods will, or the superimposition of your own preferences or will, over that of God..
To advance in life you must subscribe to Gods Word and in the proper manner. You cannot define the manner in which you will study, learn, and apply the scriptures to your life. You must follow Gods commands and directions, otherwise arrogance will infiltrate your pattern of thinking and derail your life.
The proper course is of course faith for salvation (you only have to do that once in your life), fellowship for residence under Gods control (you have to monitor your fellowship status daily), daily study for consistency and a means for learning, application for utilizing that which you learn, and the repetition of all of this every day throughout your entire life. Any exception to this pattern can or will short circuit your spiritual life.
Practice in your daily life, of what you learn only helps you to change your life for the better and to sustain your spiritual growth.
Being humble is not a physical position of posture, or an 'awe shucks' demeanor. Humility is not a humiliating or embarrassing position in which you place yourself. Voluntarily subordinating yourself to others when appropriate does not make you the lessor person.
Humility is the proper orientation to Gods Word, doing that which God expects you to do. This all only helps your orientation to Gods truth and that helps you grow up spiritually and that is or should be your main objective in life.
Remember that there is but one evaluation in life which will impact your entire eternal future and that is the one you will receive from Christ. It is the most important evaluation you will ever receive. So conduct your life in a manner which is befitting of a spiritually mature believer, and Jesus Christ who controls history, will take care of all the details of your life.
This does not absolve you of being responsible, but then as you advance in your spiritual life, by default you become responsible. In the proper course of time, Christ will promote you, based on the content of your soul, Bible doctrine, and your correct use and application of it.
Your only other course of action is to ignore Gods Word, or to modify how you will use it or portions of it, and then you are in effect saying that you have a better interpretation of how life should be lived and pursued. And being the 'all knowing' that you are, then you will have all the answers and you'll have the solutions to all the problems that arise, and of course you can provide for yourself all that you will ever need. Relying on yourself then you'll need a lot of luck - so good luck!
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