Luke 14: 7-11
And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them,
When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,
and he who invited you both will come and say to you, Give your place to this man, and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place.
But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, Friend, move up higher; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you,
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
When Jesus went to dinner on the Sabbath at this prominent Pharisee's house, He had a lot to say to him and his other guests. But He wasn't very complimentary at all.
Here He's dressing them down for their self-promotion.
The culture He lived in was very aware of the varying degrees of importance of each member of the society, and the seating arrangements at every social gathering was rather precise. So where someone was seated at the table was a reflection of their importance in relation to everyone else.
A parallel I can think of right now would be at a wedding reception, where the wedding party is at a table separate from all the other tables. If one of the groomsmen would take the central seat of the groom, he would be asked to move.
But the principle here applies to anywhere we would want to promote ourselves over someone else. I remember how my husband would sometimes look in the mirror and compliment himself on his good looks, and I would respond by telling him that was for me to say; now that he said it, I couldn't. I didn't want to put him down; I did consider him to be very good-looking, but I felt he was preventing me from saying it by taking that place himself.
Self-promotion is one exteme, and putting oneself down is the other extreme. But to measure ourselves by ourselves, and to compare ourselves among ourselves, is not wise, is lacking understanding (II Corinthians 10:12).
We need to have true humility: recognizing our true worth, without elevating it or lowering it, or being competitive with one another. We are all valuable, and God loves us all more than we can imagine; He has gifted each of us in our own way, according to each of our personality and ability. We are to use our talents and skills to help one another, to lift up one another, and to bless one another with God's blessings.
O my Father, thank You for all Your gifts and giftings to us all. You are so generous, Father, to have given all of us Your wonderful and useful gifts.
Help us, Father, to not be envious of others' gifts, but to recognize how You have made each of us differently, with varied combinations of gifts, abilities, personalities, intellects, skills, experiences, and heart desires. Help us to be grateful and thankful for what You have given to each of us, using all these traits unselfishly to benefit one another, and bring You praise.
And You will receive all the credit, all the glory, all the fame and renown; because only You deserve it all, from every knee bowed and every tongue in every language, throughout all eternity, forever and ever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
