Seeking the Lowest Place

“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Micah 6:8

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. (See also Proverbs 25:6-7).

11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (See also I Peter 5:6).

I Peter 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. (See also James 4:6).

 

MEMORY VERSE: A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. —Proverbs 29:23

 

CENTRAL THOUGHT: An important part of walking humbly with God is this lesson Jesus taught, by parable and by example, that when we humble ourselves to the lowest place, God will honor and exalt us in His own way and time. If we exalt ourselves, God sets Himself against us and brings us down.

 

WORD DEFINITIONS

 

Luke 14:7 “Chief rooms”: the place of honor at a banquet or table.

Luke 14:9 “Lowest room”: the last place; the end.

Luke 14:10 “Worship”: approval; honor; glory

Luke 14:11 “Exalteth”: elevate; lift on high; raise up. “Abased” and “Humbleth”: to make low; humiliate.

I Peter 5:5 “Submit”: to place under; to be subject to; properly, under God’s arrangement; to His plan. “Be clothed with humility”:
“In Scripture, 5012 /tapeinophrosýnē (lowliness, humility) is an inside-out virtue produced by comparing ourselves to the Lord (rather than to others). This brings behavior into alignment with this inner revelation to keep one from being self-exalting (self-determining, self-inflated). For the believer, 5012 /tapeinophrosýnē (humility) means living in complete dependence on the Lord, with no reliance on self (the flesh).” —HELPS Word Studies. “Resisteth”: opposed to in principle and in practice; I set myself against—a very old military term used for placing a soldier in a specific platoon with a specific function—a definite order to attack or resist.

 

LESSON BACKGROUND

 

Imagine Jesus seated in an obscure place at a grand feast, quietly observing the guests. In swaggers a man, blindly self-important, demanding a place at the head of the table. In just a few minutes Jesus notices that the guest of honor, a distinguished but humble man noted for his wisdom and compassion for people of all walks of life, has just been discovered by the host of the feast, mingling with the more common villagers at the back of the room. The host tactfully avoids making a scene as he transitions the now-deflated wanna-be to a seat near the servant’s galley; and the honored man—genuinely sympathetic for the embarrassment of the other—to the place of honor.

The scene must have been one that had been played out in Solomon’s time as well, as he gave the same wise admonition as our Savior. The truth is, people are people, in any age of time. Most of us have, at some time in our lives, overestimated our own importance and had to be brought down a notch or two.

Jesus, in dealing with His disciples and training them for service in His kingdom, knew this principle must be foremost in their minds if they were ever to spread the gospel.

The apostles, James and Peter, were still echoing His message some years after the Holy Spirit had been given. Missionaries were going to all parts of the world and congregations were multiplying everywhere. The disciples had encountered Simon the sorcerer, who gave out that he “was some great one.” The church to which John wrote had to deal with Diotrophes, who loved “to have the preeminence among them.” Paul had colleagues who preached while filled with envy, strife and contention. He sent letters of admonishment to those who lifted up this disciple above that one, and reproved those who unwisely compared themselves to another.

To each, Christ’s message—“Seek the lowest place; humble yourself; deny yourself; the greatest of all is the servant of all”—was the answer.

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

DISCUSSION:

 

1. Christ the example: Explain how Jesus demonstrated humility in His own life.

2. Our response: What are practical applications of this principle of seeking the lowest place in our daily living?

3. For the Gospel’s Sake: What is the importance of this lesson for ministers and gospel workers?

 

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

 

In seeking the Lord for insight into how we might humble ourselves to walk with God, “Seek the lowest place” is the teaching which came forcibly to my mind.

Walking with God will many times put us into a very obscure place. We will not be seen nor heard. Our tasks may seem thankless, our sacrifices unnoticed. This is the way of Christ. In fact, we should earnestly, genuinely seek for this kind of life. We should put down every fleshly tendency to be self-promoting, to be in the “know”, to be thought of as “one of the main ones.”

Can we see how the gospel message has been hindered by people who insisted on being preeminent? There have always been strong personalities who attracted devoted followers. The teachings they gave out may have been good, but the core motive by which they worked was tainted with self-interest. In time, the small kingdom they built crumbled, sometimes as others with ambition sought to climb to the top and sometimes when the oppressed souls became disillusioned and quit, or discovered the truth which freed them.

This universal truth has been proven, time and time again: The only way to truly lead is to serve. The way to be honored is to be humble. The way UP is DOWN. Those who are first in their own estimation will most assuredly become last.

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

 

REFLECTIONS

 

In meditating on this lesson I became impressed with the thought of how charity (the divine love of God) and humility go hand in hand. Paul says, “charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, … seeketh not her own” 1 Cor. 13: 4, 5. Love seeks the lowest place. Love and meekness are kindred aspects of the Spirit’s fruit (see Gal. 5:22-23). “… The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” Rom. 5:5. “Let love be without dissimulation. … Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another” Rom. 12: 9,10. “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus …” Phil. 2: 3-5.

All who learn the wondrous secret of living and walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:25), who sheds God’s love abroad in our hearts, will acquire the priceless grace of humility. I remember reading in R. L. Berry’s book, Adventures In the Land of Canaan, that the Valley of Humility is the best inheritance in Canaan (the sanctified life). May we all seek to inherit our portion of this rich, fertile, and fruitful valley!

“Humility, in Christ complete, I seek thy pleasant ways;
For lowly place at Jesus’ feet My heart with longing prays.

“O sink my heart to nothingness, Down, down to lowly planes;
Then up, far up in joyfulness, My soul in glory reigns.

“Come softly from thy throne above, O grace so sweet and fair;
Come, touch my heart in gentle love, And scatter meekness there.”

—By C. E. Orr (Excerpted from song #113 in Echoes From Heaven)
—Bro. Harlan Sorrell