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Proverbs 25:6
Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not claim a place among great men;
it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”
than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman.
When you think
wisdom quite possibly you think of wise ole Solomon,
the son of King David.
And this
morning’s scripture is but one
of over... three thousand such wisdom thoughts from
out his fertile mind.
"Do not exalt
yourself..."
In Hebrew exalt carries a heavy handed meaning
- "swelling up"...like in what can happen to all of
us...if we "get a big head."
And then the scripture
reads, "Do not claim a place among great men..."
All around Solomon were those who
did just that...claimed to be great...indeed to such a degree that if an award were given, they felt
certain they deserved it most.
Oh, how easily it
happens...when fueled by arrogance and self-satisfaction,
to then become a self-serving and self-appointed
know-it-all. To give out high and
mighty advice to someone who has not even asked for it....
And then actually get angry when people don't take your
advice.
Perhaps you have heard the account of the
fellow who attempted to give such advice on the subject
of humility...by writing a book about it.
However, he ran into trouble choosing a title
for his book. "Humility and How I Attained
It" somehow didn't seem to fit; nor did "How I Became Humble."
He finally decided on "Me and My Humility" -- and then so you would
recognize this purveyor of such wisdom
should you happen to meet him on the street..,
he included a twelve full-page pictures of
himself!
Humility...if you think you have it...you are probably in danger
of losing it.
An admirer once asked the famous orchestra conductor Leonard Bernstein what was
the most difficult instrument to play.
He responded with
quick wit: "Second fiddle. I can get
plenty of first violinists, but to find one who
plays second violin with as much enthusiasm or
second French horn or second flute, now that's a
problem...
And yet if no one
plays second, we have no harmony."
Ah, what a terrible
FATHER pride is...as it begets bitterness,
anger, jealousy, resentment...the list goes on and on. ..until it ends
with the final word STUPIDITY underlined and in capital letters.
Warning...when I say "humility" you most likely think
of being a
doormat... wrong
thought.
Rather think of humility
as a threshold to a door to learning… because a humble person is willing to admit they don't know it all. A
humble person is an ongoing student.
What's another good thing about being
humble?
Humble people get to know and understand others better because they are willing
to deal with them as equals rather than play the role of the arrogant divider.
In short, don't
live as if the world revolves around you...but rather that you and
others are living on this same revolving globe ...with
each of you learning from and teaching each other all at the
same time.
The bowl was full and so was His heart; a heart full of love and humility and sadness for soon
the hands that held the
bowl would be pierced and He would die... and there in the upper room, the bowl was
filled with water, ready, as was the custom, so that a servant could wash the feet of the seated
guests.
When the disciples entered the room, arrogance was in
full bloom as they loudly argued who was the greatest among
them...and therefore who would be the greatest in the
Kingdom of Heaven...
It would be a cold day on the sands of
the Sahara before any of them would even think about
washing of these feet dirtied by Jerusalem's
streets... To perform such a menial task would be demeaning. And in
particular since they were the twelve chosen ones.
An
inferiority complex was certainly the last thing they were suffering
from.
So the son of man and the Son of God did
what they could not – would not do, removed His outer cloak... tied a towel around His waist... knelt
down and began to wash their feet...and
His humility was a lesson devoutly
made.
Oh, He had tried to teach them this lesson many, many times before...the importance of servitude...but it was just as hard a lesson for
the disciples to accept then… as it is for you and me to accept today....
But then they finally got it – the big
picture. Or as Mark describes it in chapter 10 verse 45, "The
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many."
You most likely do not attend a foot washing church... but for the sake of inward
discussion, think about it... how would
you feel if I asked you to wash my feet? …
Or if I asked you to allow me to wash yours?
(that is assuming of course that we could solve our present problem of time and
space)
Oh, I know at least for some it would
be embarrassing. I can understand that –
never have done it myself.
And for others, PRICKLY PRIDE WOULD RISE
UP… and…well… it is hard to wash another's
feet when
you're standing
on a pedestal.
And, oh yes, please remember...Jesus washed ALL
their feet...EVEN THE FEET of
Judas.
(to
be continued next Tuesday)
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Here Comes Summer (July 2012)
·
Spring
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·
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow (April 2012)
·
Wayward and Windy (April 2012)
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