Old Testament reading: 2 Samuel 15-16
“So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel” (1 Sam 15:6). 1 Samuel 15 brings to view the full measure of Absalom’s treason. Absalom’s plan to take the throne from his father required David’s death. It also shows how fickle and shallow the general public can be. Absalom was the consummate politician, stealing the hearts of the people by tickling everyone’s ears. Absalom promised “justice” to every disgruntled person, no matter what their case might be. We see the same thing today, not only in the “free stuff for everyone” speeches of our politicians, but also in the preaching of modern ear scratchers like Joel Osteen. “It’s all about you and your happiness!” they cry out week after week. The unsuspecting and undiscerning eat it up while these wolves in sheep’s clothing make prey and merchandise of them. No one is immune to being deceived by these smooth talkers, as seen in Paul’s warnings against those who “by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple” (Rom 16:18).
New Testament reading: Luke 14-16
Baseball fans are familiar with the phrases “getting called up” and “getting sent down.” The first phrase describes a time of great joy as a minor league player is brought up to play “in the bigs.” Obviously, the other is not so great, as it describes a major league player being demoted to the minors. Jesus’ parable of the seats at the wedding feast teaches us the value and potential glory found in humility (14:7-14). In this case, humility is not exemplified by necessarily thinking less of self (for whatever reason). Rather, it is seen in a willingness to begin in a lower place, even if one thinks he deserves better. A lack of humility says “I deserved this” or “So-and-so has this, and they’re no better than I am.” Humility goes a long way in preventing or solving a lot of our problems. In today’s text, we see how the exercise of humility paves the way to exaltation. There is no greater exaltation than that provided by the God of heaven, but the path to true exaltation winds through the valley of humility (cf James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6).
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