The Principle of Kingdom Humility - Luke 14:7-11

It was commonplace for Jesus to tell a story and then conclude it by stating a principle for living in His present and future Kingdom. Jesus was at the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees who had invited Him over to eat the Sabbath meal when He told the parable of the wedding feast and concluded by stating a Kingdom principle. Jesus told the dinner party that when invited to a wedding feast don't sit at the place of honor because someone more important than you may come along and you could get bumped from your seat in favor of another. However, if you sit in the least honored position, then the host may come and ask you to move to a place of honor. Then Jesus concludes: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (vs. 11; seel also Luke 18:14). One's success in this world is often measured by how much recognition is bestowed upon him, but success in the Kingdom of God is measured by showing humility. This principle seems to indicate these honors are mutually exclusive. So if you can't get both, then you receive honor from this world or from God. You indicate to God you want to be exalted in His Kingdom by showing humility in this world.