“Know Your Place”
Text: Proverbs 25:6-7 & Luke 14:8-11
9/1/2013
Concordia Lutheran Church
Rev. David Mumm
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Sometimes what the Bible has to say
doesn’t sound very religious. This is
especially the case in the Old Testament.
What could possibly be spiritually or
religiously significant in these words: “Do
not put yourself forward in the king’s
presence or stand in the place of the great,
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for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
than to be put lower in the presence of a
noble.”
Let’s talk just a minute about what
proverbs are. They are normally very short
messages filled with wisdom. Proverbs
usually follow a very specific style. They
consist of two short thoughts, brought
together as a poetic parallel. Here is a
problem that we have: the poetry of the
Hebrew language often does not translate
poetically into English. The rhyme and
meter one might find in the Hebrew is often
lost in translation to English. Such is the
case in the proverb before us today.
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The proverb might be summed up like
this: “If you want worldly honor, watch out,
or you might find yourself humiliated. On
the other hand, if you live humbly, you may
find yourself exalted and honored.” Now,
that is sound advice. A lot of people think
too much of themselves. They think they
are above the rules of society, and, as a
result, they end up humiliated and
forgotten. We see it over and over again.
The wisdom of this proverb is obvious.
But, where is the spiritual or religious point
of application?
The key to this text lies in
understanding the difference between
humiliation and humility. Often in the
Gospels, Jesus is confronted by those who
sought to humiliate Him. The Pharisees and
Sadducees were especially notorious in
their attacks. If they could just prove Jesus
wrong, in even the smallest detail, they
could humiliate and discredit Him. No one
ever succeeded in humiliating Jesus. This is
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because Jesus walked humbly. He never
exalted Himself, never boasting about who
He was, or what He would do. The way He
lived ran counter with the sinful world.
That is a key clue to seeing how this
text is both archaic and contemporary. To
be called before the King meant, to face
ones “day in court.” It was to stand before
the judgment seat. It really doesn’t matter
why a person was called before the King,
certain unbreakable rules of etiquette
would apply. If you were called to the
throne room of King Solomon, and you
came in acting like you belonged there, the
probability of ending up dead or in prison
was very great.
If you were invited to the White
House, would it be wise to saunter into the
Oval Office, to act as though you owned the
place, and sit down at the chair behind the
desk? What arrogance, what disrespect for
the office, and, what trouble you would
create for yourself.
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Brought a bit closer to home, the
person who treats police with disdain, will
likely experience the hand cuffs and jail cell.
The text begins to broaden as we think
of the various ways that it is true today. The
person who shows no sense of humility
ends up being humiliated. The person who
walks humbly often ends up exalted. So our
text stands as a reminder: “It is better to be
told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower
in the presence of a noble.”
We can see applications to practical
life, but, we may still be asking, “What does
this have to do with our spiritual life?”
Good behavior, ethical responses, walking
humbly; these are good traits for a person
to have, but where do they fit in a
discussion of our salvation?
Perhaps a touch with a few New
Testament words might help us understand.
Near the start of Paul’s first letter to the
Christians in and near Corinth, he writes:
God chose what is low and despised in the
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world, even things that are not, to bring to
nothing things that are, 29so that no
human being might boast in the presence
of God. 30He is the source of your life in
Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom
and our righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is
written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in
the Lord.”1
The wisdom of this world seeks the
respect, prestige, and wealth. Our riches,
our wealth, or hope is found in Jesus.
Someone asked me the other day, if I
think the funding for expanding the ministry
here at Concordia will ever come through.
My answer is: “I have reason to think it will
come together, but, I don’t know for sure
that it will. This much I do know, financial
issues are the easiest issues for God to
solve, after all, He is God, and He is the real
owner of everything, including the money in
your pocket right now.” Let God be God.
1
1 Cor 1:28-31
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When and if He desires to provide for us, He
will, through the means He determines to
be right.
When we think we are in charge, we
lose the humility which is so important.
Look at the Gospel for today. Jesus speaking
in a style similar to “proverbs,” the style
known as “parables” says: “When you give
a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your
friends or your brothers or your relatives or
rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in
return and you be repaid. 13But when you
give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, the blind, 14and you will be
blessed, because they cannot repay you.
You will be repaid at the resurrection of
the just.”2 Luther once said, “Consider your
station in life.” Put a more contemporarily:
“Don’t overstep your bounds.”
The text is a warning and a reminder.
This problem even surfaced with Jesus’ own
disciples. In Matthews Gospel we read: At
2
Luke 14:12-14
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that time the disciples came to Jesus,
saying, “Who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?” 2And calling to him a
child, he put him in the midst of them and
said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn
and become like children, you will never
enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Whoever
humbles himself like this child is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”3
Here then is the answer to our
question: “What does Proverbs 25 have to
do with our spiritual life and salvation?”
Walking in the ways of the Lord is walking
humbly. Our confidence not in ourselves,
our hope not in our abilities, our actions not
by our own wisdom. Jesus made this very
clear when He said: For everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, but the one
who humbles himself will be exalted.”4
Peter, speaking in front of the Jewish
high court, said: “Truly I understand that
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4
Matthew 18:1-4
Luke 18:4
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God shows no partiality, 35but in every
nation anyone who fears him and does
what is right is acceptable to him.5
If we would walk in the way of our
Lord it starts with humility. If we would
influence the lives of others, who live by the
moral and ethical ideals of this world, it
starts with showing by example, the life of
one who humbly walks before the Lord.
We don’t live such a life so that the
Lord will say, “Come up here” and reward
us. We know, He has already provided the
reward. By the grace of God we are
forgiven, loved, redeemed, citizens of
heaven.
For such great blessings, let us humbly
pray: “Thank you, Heavenly Father, for
sending Your Son as our Savior, for placing
Your Spirit in our hearts in Holy Baptism,
and for declaring us to be Your own. May
our lives reflect the humility and the
wisdom of this text, that You are always be
5
Acts 10:34-35
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honored through us, as we “Serve Christ
from Cradle to Crown.” Amen.