Today’s Gospel (LK 14:7-11) tells us not to seek places of honor for ourselves, not to exalt ourselves over others; rather, we are to remain humble. We all desire to be liked. We are social people, after all, but the problem arises when we think of ourselves as better than others and that we are more deserving of esteem and recognition.
It is so easy for us to fall into the trap of seeing what is good in our lives as “ours.” The truth is, that what we have and appreciate as good, our various talents, wholesome desires, and innate abilities, all comes from God. We did not give ourselves our DNA; we did not choose our parents, where we grew up, and under what circumstances we were raised; we did not orchestrate most of what has happened in our lives; and we were not the ones who wrote the desires, motivations, and passions on our heart that drive us to strive for holiness. We are mere inheritors of these gifts.
We are recipients of God’s grace, mercy, and love. Thus, it is God, and God alone who deserves honor for what others may rightly understand as “good” in our world, and we should remain humble, knowing ourselves as genuine cooperators with the Divine. May our lives always give glory to God, the Almighty and Supreme creator of all that is good.
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