Be Not Exalted

“Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen” (Prov. 25:6,7). The failure to follow this age old, infallible counsel has been a huge stumblingblock to many throughout all ages. Jesus warned of the temptation to set one’s self up higher and faster than God is setting them up: “But all their works they do for to be seen of men : they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues… But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Mat. 23:5,6,11,12). So many are just determined to break that mode and be the first who succeeds at doing things opposite of what the scriptures and Jesus have told us to do. The result? Well, being brought down is always what’s coming, even as Jesus said it would be. So if we take that route it’s certain that we will either be temporarily set back or permanently derailed, depending on how we deal with being brought down, or ‘abased.’ Humility just seems to be the last thing that man wants to learn, even though it is proven to be the most blessed state to live in. It really is so much easier to be humble before God and men than to have the mentality of having to prove one’s self to be someone great. All would be very wise to believe and heed the sobering admonition of the ancient proverb that tells us, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). It just is not and can not be any other way.

The Bible shows us that throughout history it has been people who learned much humility through time and trials, whom God used for great purposes. Jesus was born for the purpose of achieving the ultimate greatness, and yet he was the ultimate example of humility, as the scripture tells us along with admonition for us to follow his example: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” (Philip. 2:5-9). The scripture plainly declares that “the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit” (Eccl. 7:8). What that tells us is that the proud in spirit are the anxious and hasty in spirit, and that means anxious and hasty to establish one’s self as someone notable in God. But the truth of the matter is that it just isn’t worth it to have that kind of motivation because it is always doomed to failure. It just feels so much better and prospers us so much more to give God the space to bless us. There still is only one way to do that, and the Bible gives it to us right up front, along with the contrary part: “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (Jas. 4:6). The humble are not those who are hastily striving to be at the top of the heap. It really is that simple. Amen.