May 31: Playing Favorites (Luke 14:1-14)

May 31: Playing Favorites (Luke 14:1-14)

Jesus was invited to eat at someone's house. It was a great honor, and there were many other important guests there, as well. Jesus watched everyone try to sit in the best seat, near the important leader's chair. He told them this story:

"Imagine someone invited you to a party and you sit in the very best seat. Then their very best friend comes and they ask you to move. How embarrassing! Instead, take the worst seat in all the house so that everyone else can have the best seats."

Jesus explained to the people that when we are on this earth, our purpose is not to make ourselves look good in front of others. Especially if it means we have to put someone down in order to get the best spot. Instead, we should serve others. Service is more important to God than status.

He then added on, "And when you invite people to your house, don't play favorites. Don't invite people that you know will invite you back to their house. Don't invite only important people that you can brag about. Instead, invite the people that can't pay you back. God will reward you."

This was His way of saying that we should not only be nice to people who we like. We should not only talk about Jesus to people who are already Christians. God welcomes everyone into His kingdom, so we should welcome everyone into our church, too.