Daily Devotional
               Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.   

  The Wisdom of God

Verses for the Day:  

Proverbs 25:6-7 (KJV):
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.

Proverbs 25:6-7 (AMP):
6 Be not forward (self-assertive and boastfully ambitious) in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men;
7 For better it is that it should be said to you, Come up here, than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whose eyes have seen you. 

Thoughts for the Day:

These verses from Proverbs give advice not to exalt ourselves in the presence of important people, but rather to take an humble position. Humility is a virtue that we all should strive to possess. When any of us take a lofty and prideful attitude and enter in a room and seek for the better seats, because we want to be noticed, the Bible calls this sin. Certainly, as these scriptures state, if we are invited to come and sit in a special place, then it becomes an honor for us. However, to be assertive in devising a way "to get to the top" could bring embarrassment to us if we are asked to move and make room for those who are designated for the place that we coveted. Jesus spoke the same thing in a parable in the New Testament:

Luke 14:7-11:
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.

Jesus used this parable to teach that anyone who attempts to exalt himself in front of others will eventually be "abased" or "put down."  Those who are prideful and boastful in regard to anything, are setting themselves up for a fall, according to the Word of God. Men who think they do not need God are the most prideful of all. At some point all men come to the end of themselves and will face the fact that they are not in control of all of their circumstances. We all need God, as without Him, we face an eternity in hell.

Proverbs 16:18-19:
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

The same scriptures that warn against exalting ourselves, tell us if we humble ourselves, in due season, we shall be exalted.  The fruit of humility will be recognized by others. God sees to it, that those who are humble in His sight shall also be rewarded for their unselfishness.

James 4:10: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

If we boast of anything, it should be our boast of what the Lord has done for us!  Without Him we could do nothing.

Psalm 34:2: My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You, Lord, for all of the wonderful things You have done for me!  I do appreciate each and every one of them. Lord, I do want to always remain humble, not only in Your sight, but in the sight of men, as well.  May I have the grace to be a servant to others and not to think of myself more highly than anyone else, as every child of God is important in Your sight. Not one of Your children is more important than another.  We are all important, because we belong to You.  Help us not to glory in that, but rather be humbled by that fact.  I ask this in the name of Jesus, who humbled Himself to endure the cross for each of us. Amen.