Deuteronomy 28:1
“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.”
The Lord wants to honor us. David refers to this in Psalm 23, “He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies”. Our lives contain an aspect of The Lord honoring us. It’s like when we are recognized by our peers.
In the church of my youth, this wasn’t addressed. Quite the opposite. The believer was to be glum, sorrowful, humble and to live sparingly. The concepts of honoring us and joy weren’t present.
This type of self punishment is taking away from the cross of Christ. He paid for us. We don’t have to take on more. Our lives will include low times, humble states and sadness. However, we aren’t to apply them in a self imposed manner. If we feel guilty for enjoying His blessings, then we aren’t fully trusting in the cross of Christ.
We aren’t to promote ourselves. This is where there might be some self demotion. Jesus said in Luke 14:10, “But when you are invited, go and sit in the last place, so that your host will come and tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in front of everyone at the table with you.” When making the choice, we choose the lesser. However, when the person responds by elevating us, take it.
I had some difficulty with this. This self demotion was so ingrained that being in the spotlight felt selfish. I had to accept that God wants to honor us. It took years to accept.
Lord, thanks for the honor You give us.