Don’t Make Yourself Important

⁷ When Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the ·best places [places of honor] to sit [^Cseats were assigned according to social status], he told this ·story [parable]: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, don’t take the ·most important seat [place of honor], because someone more ·important [distinguished; honorable] than you may have been invited. ⁹ The host, who invited both of you, will come to you and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be ·embarrassed [humiliated; disgraced; shamed] and will have to move to the ·last [least; lowest] place. ¹⁰ ·So [^LBut] when you are invited, go ·sit in a seat that is not important [^Lrecline in the last/lowest place; 7:36]. When the host comes to you, he may say, ‘Friend, move up here to a ·more important [better; higher] place.’ Then ·all the other guests will respect you [^Lyou will be honored in the presence of all the guests]. ¹¹ [^LFor; Because] All who ·make themselves great [exalt themselves] will be made humble, but those who make themselves humble will be ·made great [exalted].”