Luke 14:11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus had been invited to dine with a ruler of the Pharisees on the Sabbath. When Jesus entered the house, He observed the guests maneuvering to seat themselves in the best places. The seats closest to the host were the places of highest honor and less so the farther from the host … In other words, there was a pecking order. Perhaps you are familiar with this kind of “jockeying for position” in the workplace or maybe even in church?  In chapter 13, Jesus said that there are those who the world counted as last but who will in the Kingdom of God be exalted to first. Popularity and praise from man is of no consequence when it comes to things of the Kingdom.

Proverbs 25:6–7 (NKJV) Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of the great; For it is better that he say to you, “Come up here,” Than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen.

What good is it to seek the esteem of man when true exaltation only comes from God? A simple definition of exalt is: to think highly of or to raise to a higher rank. The Bible tells us several things about being exalted:

True exaltation comes from God. From men, veneration is feeble and fleeting. It doesn’t last. It’s as fickle as the people who grant it. But God is without shadow of turning … Those He exalts need never be ashamed.

Psalm 75:6–7 (NKJV) For exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another.

God exalts those who are humble. Want to be exalted by God? Then count yourself as little among men. As Jesus came to serve, so you also seek to serve others. The Bible says that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. The kingdoms of the proud will fall, but God will exalt the humble.

Job 22:29 (NKJV) When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’ Then He will save the humble person.

And, as we see from what Jesus said in Luke 14, self exaltation is wrong. God’s promise is that whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever is humble will be exalted.

And so, Jesus remarked on this seeking after the best seats, saying that seeking exaltation ends in shame and disappointment. But when you count yourself to be of little consequence and are then promoted to a better place, you are made joyful because your promotion has come not from man, but from God.

We’re probably all familiar with the imagery of the Master Potter in Jeremiah 18 … who breaks the marred vessel to reform it into something better and more useful. The word Humble has it’s origins in the latin word humus, meaning clay. Humility is not something you can put on or suddenly become … It’s something that is learned as time and again the Master Potter breaks you and then reforms you from the clay. It’s been said that God first humbles the man he intends to exalt, so if you have been humbled, be encouraged … because 1 Peter 5 says God will exalt you in due time.