Shaped by the Word is a daily, Bible-reading devotional. I do not publish supplemental material on Sundays, but I do include a suggested Scripture reading. Please be sure to subscribe to this page to follow along each day. Thanks for reading!
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18, ESV)
“One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.” (Proverbs 29:23, ESV)
Shaped by the Word is a daily, Bible-reading devotional. On Sundays, I only publish a suggested Scripture reading with no other passage notes or personal thoughts. Please be sure to subscribe to this page so you can follow along each day. We are currently reading through the life of Christ as recorded in the New Testament Gospels.
Reading the Word
Luke 20:45–47 (ESV)
45 And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 47 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
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Reading the Word
Luke 14:12–14 (ESV)
12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “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. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Understanding and Applying the Word
In Luke 14:7-11, Jesus addressed the issue of guests seeking to be honored by their hosts. In today’s reading, Jesus turned to speak to the host. One should not simply invite those who are able to repay through reciprocal invitations in the future. Instead, one should invite the “poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind.” These represent those who are not able to repay, which shows true generosity on the part of the host. Such genuine love and giving to others will be rewarded by God in the end.
We must remember that our motivations for our actions are just as important as the actions themselves. Why did you help someone? Was it to be recognized? Was it so you could tell people about it later? Or, was it because you wanted to please the Lord and show others the same love that God has shown to you? In the end, the only thing that will matter is what God thinks of what we have said and done. He knows both the external actions and the internal motivations. May God’s approval be our heart’s desire.
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Reading the Word
Luke 14:7–11 (ESV)
7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Understanding and Applying the Word
Notice that Jesus spoke this parable to those who were choosing the places of honor at the home of the Pharisee (cf. Luke 14:1). Jesus was not just giving theoretical advice with his teaching. He was addressing a real mindset as it was happening! Through this parable, Jesus warned against pride and arrogance. Such a mindset will ultimately lead to shame and embarrassment when the place of honor is taken away and given to someone else. It is the humble person who finds true honor when the master invites him to take the place of honor.
Jesus’ teaching concerned the place of honor at a meal, but it also spoke of the religious leaders’ mindset about their relationship with God. They were proud and arrogant about their righteousness. They believed they were superior to others and had earned their right to be a part of the kingdom of God. To their surprise, Jesus told them that it is the humble person who puts others first who will finally be honored by the Father. The pride and arrogant will be humbled.
The Christian life is one of recognizing the worth in others while also recognizing our own shortcomings. We do not think of ourselves as better than others because we are not. All that we have is simply by the grace of God and the sacrificial death of our Savior. Instead of elevating ourselves above others, we are called to put them first and serve them. We do this by showing others love and through the proclamation of Christ’s love for sinners. When we do that, we follow in the footsteps of our Savior (cf. Philippians 2:1-11).
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Reading the Word
Psalm 73:4–9 (ESV)
4 For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. 5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. 7 Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. 8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. 9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.
Understanding and Applying the Word
Psalm 73:4-9 resumes by speaking about the seeming prosperity of the wicked. They are healthy and well-fed. They live care-free lives. They are proud and arrogant as they speak against others and even against heaven.
These verses describe the danger of prosperity. Great riches and possessions can cause us to become self-sufficient. There is no need to rely on God day-to-day. This is why Jesus said that it is harder for a rich person to go to heaven than for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:24). This is also the point of the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21).
May God give us all that we need, but not so much that we feel we no longer need him. As Charles Spurgeon once said, “Let not the gifts Thy love bestows estrange our hearts from Thee.”
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