Proverbs 25.6-7
“Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.”
This is a message about humility. It’s an admonition to avoid self-promotion, and to be self-aware. In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul gives this directive: “Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but think with sober judgment.” This is very challenging, because we tend to be self-oriented. We tend to have an elevated view of ourselves. We want to be seen among the privileged folks; we want to be noticed.
What is required, according to Paul, is “sober judgment” about self. In other words, disciplined self-awareness. We must be rigorous about how we evaluate and think about ourselves, and we must avoid the intoxicating and distorting influence of ever-present ego.
Ego serves self. Humility serves others.
Ego wants credit. Humility wants to contribute.
Ego wants control. Humility knows when to follow.
The opening chapter of the book of James also warns about this dark characteristic of humanity.
“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.” (James 1.9-11)
James refers to economic and social status to make the point that we should not allow our identity or ego or confidence get attached to our position in the world. He turns the normal social structure upside down.
The concern in the early church was that because of their lower social status, poor Christians might feel tempted to see themselves as lesser in the eyes of God. James asserts that their lowly status is exalted and tells them to “boast” in it. Then he says that wealthy Christians, because of their higher social status, might feel tempted to see themselves as greater in the eyes of God. James asserts that they should be humble and boast in the “lowliness” of their position, because in God’s kingdom earthly wealth is not a higher status.
James exhorts both poor and rich Christians to remember that the sole basis for their confidence is their identity in Christ. Poor believers, insignificant and of no account in the eyes of the world, are to rejoice in their relationship with the Lord who has been exalted to the highest position in the universe. Rich believers, well off and physically secure in their possessions, with great status in the eyes of the world, are to remember that their only lasting security comes through their relationship with the ‘man of suffering’, ‘despised and rejected by mankind’. No matter our economic status, we must look at our lives from a heavenly, not an earthly, perspective.
Both wealth and poverty are conditions which require insight from God. The double-minded person will not handle wealth effectively, nor will he respond well to poverty. Being wealthy does not make you more spiritual, and neither does being poor. Our identity is in Christ, not in our bank account or social status.
When Jesus returns and brings a new heaven and new earth, both the poverty and the wealth of the fallen world will give way to the true riches and glory of God’s kingdom.
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3.20-21)
