Is Humility a Choice?

Luke 14:7-14

⁷Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ⁸“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, ⁹and 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. ¹⁰But 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. ¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” ¹²He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. ¹³But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Inside most of us lies an instinct to put others first; but also in there is an even stronger instinct to make sure we’re the one on top. This attitude is part of the sinful human condition – always look out for number one. Jesus addresses that issue squarely in His words to the Pharisees and to His own disciples.

Humility is one of those qualities we quietly respect in others but rarely is it held up as something admirable in our culture. As I ponder humility this morning I am struck by the dichotomy that this character trait surfaces. It is rare to find a humble person at the top of the heap and in most of the world the top is where we want to live. But we honor humility when we see it played out in a life. Jesus holds humility in high regard and sets it before all of the guests at this dinner as almost paramount. He even places a heavenly reward on those who would serve those who are unable to return the favor. I think we are willing to serve but for the most part we do so only when it is convenient for us.

These words convict and instruct. Upon some meditation I realize that humility is not my strongest trait. Far from it. I’m more like the Pharisees than is comfortable to admit. While I rarely seek to sit in the front, I do seek to do what I want and that probably isn’t born of humility. In fact, if I don’t get to do what I want I can be rather put out about it and that isn’t born of humility either. And I’m more than willing to serve those who cannot return the favor – but on my terms. This attitude is also not born of humility. So today, it’s more conviction than instruction. I know how to be humble – I just prefer not to be. Wow.