The Ugliness of Self-Entitlement
Luke 14:7-11 Then Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the best places to sit. So he told this story: “When someone invites you to a wedding, don’t sit in the most important seat. They may have invited someone more important than you. And if you are sitting in the most important seat, they will come to you and say, ‘Give this man your seat!’ Then you will have to move down to the last place and be embarrassed. “So when someone invites you, go sit in the seat that is not important. Then they will come to you and say, ‘Friend, move up here to this better place!’ What an honour this will be for you in front of all the other guests. Everyone who makes themselves important will be made humble. But everyone who makes themselves humble will be made important.”
I don’t know about you, but for me one of the ugliest of all human traits is self-promotion – people who I guess out of their own insecurity need to talk themselves up, or wear clothes or drive cars that speak of power and success.
It all begins with a deep, if subconscious, belief that “I am the centre of the universe. Who I am, what I want, trumps anything else that anyone else wants.” People like that need to be seen to be the top dog. They need to project outward confidence and success.
So, question: how much do you enjoy hanging around people like that? It doesn’t take all that long to come up with the answer, does it?
Luke 14:7-11 Then Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the best places to sit. So he told this story: “When someone invites you to a wedding, don’t sit in the most important seat. They may have invited someone more important than you. And if you are sitting in the most important seat, they will come to you and say, ‘Give this man your seat!’ Then you will have to move down to the last place and be embarrassed. “So when someone invites you, go sit in the seat that is not important. Then they will come to you and say, ‘Friend, move up here to this better place!’ What an honour this will be for you in front of all the other guests. Everyone who makes themselves important will be made humble. But everyone who makes themselves humble will be made important.”
When we take our eyes off ourselves everything changes.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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