Proverbs 25:6-7 - ⁶Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among great men; ⁷it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,” than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman.

I have always like the book of Proverbs. It’s the ‘Big Book of Common Sense’, or what many of us have come to know as common sense. Just good old practical advice. “Don’t hang out at your neighbors all day every day…or he might really start to not like you.” (Ch. 25:17) These specific verses talk about always staying in a humble state of mind. Jesus’ ministry spoke of this often. The beatitudes, washing of the disciples feet, “who will be at your right hand Jesus?”,…all of these showed instances where lowering yourself into a serving role would actually gain you more respect and honor.

Think about the times in your life when you’ve went out of your way to serve someone else. You’ll probably notice that you come away having gained the favor of another and having more self respect than you did prior.

Proverbs 28:13 - ¹³He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

There is a very powerful message contained within this passage. One that is often overlooked in the scheme of salvation. The word ‘renounce’ is key. Renounce, in it’s harshest definition, means to disown, to cut-off. Often times focus is placed squarely upon asking for forgiveness. The fact the mercy is freely given to us can blind us of the second piece of God’s command. We must ‘renounce’ our sinful ways…cut sin from our lives. During Jesus ministry, when He would heal someone, He would first forgive their sins…and regularly followed that with a statement of “Go and sin no more”. Let each of us take that with us when we pray. Let us ask for the determination and strength to turn from our sinful ways and follow the Godly path of salvation.