Built to ServeSample

From Worst to First

Do you like pie? I do.

Chocolate. Banana cream. Apple. Strawberry and rhubarb. And of course, pumpkin.

But there is one pie that I’d rather not eat.

Humble pie.

The pie that is served without any sugar or whipped cream.

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, there is an interesting line where Jesus tells of how the Samaritan put the injured man on his “own donkey”(Luke 10:34 NIV, emphasis added).

It’s an interesting detail. It’s like saying that if you were helping someone, you would put them in your own car.

I mean, of course you’d put them in your own car, right?!

Why does Jesus mention this detail?

A few chapters later, in Luke 14, we find Jesus, on a Sabbath, in the home of a prominent Pharisee and in the company of “experts in the law” (Luke 14:1-3 NIV).

Jesus knows He is being watched by the religious leaders, so what does He do?

He heals a man on the Sabbath (Luke 14:4 NIV).

Then He serves up a good helping of humble pie.

Luke writes that when Jesus noticed how the men picked their seats at the table, seeking the “places of honor,” He told them a parable to help them understand the difference between humility and being humiliated (Luke 14:7-11).

Jesus could read the room, and He knew the hearts of the men surrounding Him—men who would rather let another man suffer from “abnormal swelling of his body” (Luke 14:2 NIV) than be joyful when Jesus healed him.

In other words, as per the Parable of the Good Samaritan, these men would not have put the injured man on their own donkey.

Why?

Because to put someone on your own donkey means to put yourself in the position of a servant. You are essentially saying that you will help carry the other person's burden. It’s having a heart of humility.

As Christian men with a calling to live our lives for others, we need to eat the goodness of Jesus’ humble pie.

Why?

Because He gives us His secret recipe:

“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted,” (Luke 14:11 NIV).

So, take a slice of His humble pie. It might just save you from being humiliated.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for loving me. Help me to walk humbly with You and others. Amen.

Reflection: Have you ever had a time when you had to eat some humble pie? What important lesson did you learn from it?