“Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12)

Have you ever seen someone boast (or maybe “humble brag” — if there is really such a thing! — on Facebook or Twitter) in order to promote themselves? If you have ever been tempted to do the same thing, you might consider these words of Jesus in Matthew 23 instead: “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

The truth is, you CAN boast like others do, if you choose to do so  — but if you DO, Jesus wants you to know that there will come a time when you “shall be humbled.”  Instead He lays out a better course for you: just humble yourself, and then God will see to it that you are exalted.  This doesn’t mean that it won’t be hard to stand by and not promote yourself while others are; it may be difficult indeed, and for a time they may seem to prosper. But what He promises is that if you will patiently obey His word, then you will eventually be rewarded. Peter says this very thing: “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you AT THE PROPER TIME.” (I Peter 5:6)

So be content to let others exalt themselves if they will. That is their choice. But followers of Jesus will remain humble and trust God. Like so much in the Christian life, it really all boils down to trust. If we trust God to do the right thing, then we will not take things into our own hands (This is the Biblical definition of “meekness”, by the way, the message of Psalm 37. See sermon on this here.)  Trust that God will reward you at the proper time.

Proverbs 27:2 says it well: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.”  And think about it: what “other” could do a better job of seeing that you get your due, than GOD?!

So don’t be a self-promoter; instead let GOD be your PR agent. He can do it better than you can!  But in actuality, who are WE to be promoted or exalted anyway? We are here during stay on earth for the purpose of exalting GOD, not ourselves. If anything we should consider ourselves to be GOD’s “PR agents” — promoting His glory in the world, not our own.  Don’t worry about “making a name for yourself” in this world. Let the glory of God be your focus, and trust Him to reward His servant rightly.