We like to tell ourselves
that there are exceptions to every rule.
And, of course, when we say that,
very often, we mean that the exception is us.
As in, sure I know that sign says,
"Roadwork ahead, local traffic only."
But I'm really in a hurry today
and the detour goes way out of the way
and so I'm sure they won't mind
if I just kind of sneak my car through.
Or, sure, that sign by the express lane
at the grocery store says "12 items or less."
But all the other lines are so backed up
and so I'm sure it's no big deal
if I sneak through with 15.
We like to tell ourselves
that there are exceptions to every rule and sometimes,
we even tell ourselves that when it comes to the rules
that we find in the Bible.
For example, one time, Jesus said,
"All those who exalt themselves will be humbled
"and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
Jesus is saying that, when it comes to the status
and the respect that we desire, the affirmation
and the reputation that we're all after in life,
we really have two options.
Either we can make those things our own responsibility,
we can make those our goal and our obsession in life.
In other words, we can try and exalt ourselves,
in which case, Jesus says we will be humbled.
Or we can forget about those things.
We can take those things off our plate
and instead be concerned primarily about others,
make their interests our obsession.
In other words, we can humble ourselves
and then we will be exalted.
And we know that this is a rule
that doesn't have any exceptions at all,
not only because Jesus uses the word "all" in this verse,
but this is a rule
that Jesus actually repeats on two separate occasions.
He's crystal clear.
You can either be humble, or you can be humbled.
And there are no exceptions.
This is another one of these shocking sound bites
from our Savior Jesus.
We might hear these words and wonder to ourselves,
can anyone actually live that way?
Can anyone actually live a life where
they're entirely concerned about other people's interests
and entirely forgetful about their own?
In fact, we might think it would be a little bit scary
for someone to actually do this.
And yet, what's even scarier, is what we are realizing
about what happens when people don't.
I don't know if you heard this,
but recently, Facebook announced
that they are going to experiment
with getting rid of their "like" button.
You might be old enough to remember
that Facebook didn't always have a like button.
It wasn't added until 2009
and then all of those other options for reactions
weren't added until 2016.
Facebook is actually experimenting
with getting rid of all of it,
even though studies show that's the very thing
that keeps us all glued to our screens and therefore
enables Facebook to sell lots and lots of advertising
and make lots and lots of money.
They're thinking of getting rid of all of it.
Why?
Because they are realizing
what it's doing to people's mental health.
We live in a world where people are
obsessed with the status, the respect, the affirmation
and reputation they desire
and the tools to fuel that obsession
are literally in the palm of our hands. And more and more,
we are realizing that it's destroying us.
In other words, we don't even need Jesus' rule
to realize that half of what He's saying here is true.
If we try and exalt ourselves, inevitably,
we will end up humbled.
But, of course, we do need Jesus
for the other half of this rule.
That all those who humble themselves will be exalted.
In fact, why in the world would we ever try
and pursue a level of status or respect
that we can acquire for ourselves
when the status that Jesus gives us freely
is so much better?
In him and through him,
we have the status of being children of God.
We are sons and daughters of the king of the universe.
We are heirs of eternal life.
And so, we can willingly and gladly take out of our hands
the responsibility of reaching that status.
We can willingly and gladly be humble,
knowing confidently that God will exalt us.
And thankfully, that's a rule without any exceptions.
Let's pray.
Dear Jesus, fill us with joy and confidence
in the exalted status we have in you.
Help us find it in everything we desire,
so that we in turn can be humble
in our relationship with others.
In your name we pray.
Amen.