Go First… You First!

Jun 6, 2023

Luke records a story about when Jesus went to eat at the home of a Pharisee. Luke 14:7-11 says:

When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

- Luke 14:7-11

Paul says to “consider others more significant than yourselves” in Philippians. James tells us to “humble yourselves before the Lord and HE will lift you up” - James 4:7. I could go on, but I think you get the point!

Why am I talking about humility?

Well, as I’ve been studying James and reading through Proverbs, humility keeps coming up. I thought, “Well, I’m ‘good’ in that area,” and then Jesus told me I was being prideful thinking that! Oops! So I started asking Jesus what the subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, ways I’m prideful.

First of all, I thought about how humility is essential for us as followers of Jesus. In Proverbs 22:4, the Bible defines humility as “the fear of the Lord”. The root is in the Latin word “humus” meaning “of the earth.” To be humble is to be face down in the dirt, submitting to the authority of another, without pride. That describes the holy reverence we should have before God.

Think about Jesus coming into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday humbly on a donkey instead of a war horse. He didn’t overtake the religious leaders, but humbly died to give us life. In other words, the humility of the cross brought Him honor as our Savior.

As we follow Jesus, humility is an important character trait to develop.

It is essentially putting the needs of others before yourselves. Love is not self-seeking. When we do not seek our own honor, we receive it. When we avoid bragging about our accomplishments or dominating a conversation, we are sought out because people know we care.

Last Saturday, I was at the memorial service of a good friend with a group of about 10 others. As we all were making our way to our seats, we started inviting others to go first allowing others to enter the row. And then the “Oh, no, you go first” started, because “the first shall be last”. (Can you tell I was with a group of pastors?)

As we sat through the service, stories were told of our friend who was everyone’s best friend because he so humbly cared for us. Phone calls, practical jokes, invitations for golf, checking in on health, and being uncle to a whole lot of kids. He was a “Go First” leader and always put others before him. My desire is to be more like him, because he was more like “Jesus”.