Luke 14:7 ¶ And he put
forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out
the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8
When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the
highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to
thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.
10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit
down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto
thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of
them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For
whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall
be exalted. 12 Then said he also to him
that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor
thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they
also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor,
the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 And
thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be
recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
A similar sentiment to
verses 7 through 11 is expressed in Proverbs.
Proverbs 25:6 ¶ Put not
forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: 7 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.
Humility, rather than
seeking preeminence, is appreciated by God. Peter wrote;
1Peter 5:5 ¶ Likewise, ye
younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility:
for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty
hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth
for you.
James expressed a
similar sentiment when talking about exalting a social class as so many
working-class conservatives in America do in their worship of the very wealthy.
James 2:1 ¶ My brethren,
have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man
with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile
raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him
that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place;
and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and
are become judges of evil thoughts? 5
Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world
rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that
love him? 6 But ye have despised the
poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name
by the which ye are called?
A very important
principle is expressed in verse 14. In the ancient Greek and Roman world
charity was a political act. You gave to someone who could do you some good.
You sponsored something, gave to a temple, had something built in your name, or
distributed bread to the poor, but whatever you did you expected a return on
your investment; some preference, some prayer, some acknowledgment of your
importance, or support politically.
In fact, in
Graeco-Roman culture the poor were never singled out as the object of charity.
Philanthropy had to do with your own family or to help someone who deserved to
be helped. Almsgiving and Greek or Roman moralists never preached that people
with money should help people without unless, as I said, there was some benefit
involved or some great value in the recipient. An important thing that Jesus
will teach later is that your neighbor includes any stranger, even of a
different ethnic group or religion than yourself, that you come across in
desperate need.
The highest level of
Christian giving is to give to someone who cannot possibly benefit you and may
not even know you were their benefactor. You will expect acknowledgment in
heaven, not here on earth.
Matthew 6:1 ¶ Take heed
that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no
reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2
Therefore when thou doest thine
alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say
unto you, They have their reward. 3 But
when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy
Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
In addition, verses 12
and 13 set up a prophetic passage on a specific feast in the next verses.
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