1 Samuel 25:40-44: a reflection

40When David’s servants had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you, to take you to him as wife.” 41She arose and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, “Behold, your servant is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42Abigail hurriedly arose and rode on a donkey with her five maids who followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they both became his wives. 44Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

When Abigail is offered the honor of becoming the wife of David, the man destined to be king, she responds not with pride but with striking humility, calling herself a servant ready to wash the feet of his servants. Behold, your servant is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord, Abigail says, when David's men come to take her to him as his wife. She was being offered a place of great honor, to become the wife of the future king; yet her response was not to grasp at the honor with pride, but to humble herself, calling herself a lowly servant, ready even to wash the feet of the servants of the one who honored her. Honor did not make her proud; it found her humble. This shows keeping a humble heart even when honored or elevated. Keep a humble heart even when honored or elevated. Do not let honor make you proud; let it find you humble. Abigail, offered great honor, called herself a lowly servant. Humility can remain even in the midst of elevation.

Notice Abigail's response to being honored. She was being offered a place of great honor: to become the wife of David, the man destined to be king, a remarkable elevation. Many would have received such an offer with pride, with a sense of having arrived, of deserving the honor. But Abigail's response was humility: she bowed low and called herself a servant, ready even to wash the feet of the servants of her lord. The honor offered her did not puff her up; it found her humble, and she remained humble in the face of it. This holds a lesson about humility. It is often easy to be humble when we are low, unnoticed, unhonored; the test of humility comes when we are honored, elevated, given a place of importance. Honor and elevation tend to feed pride, to give us a sense of our own importance, of deserving. But true humility remains humble even in the midst of honor, not grasping at the elevation with pride, not letting a place of importance puff us up, but keeping a lowly, servant heart even when raised up. Abigail, offered the honor of becoming the future king's wife, called herself a servant ready to wash servants' feet. We do well to keep such a humble heart even when we are honored or elevated, not letting honor make us proud, but remaining lowly in heart. Keep a humble, servant heart even when you are honored or elevated. Do not let a place of importance puff you up with pride. The test of humility comes when you are honored, not only when you are low. Remain lowly in heart even in the midst of elevation.

That is worth taking to heart, for humility can remain even in the midst of honor, and we do well to keep a humble heart when elevated, as Abigail, offered great honor, called herself a lowly servant. Honor and elevation tend to feed pride; but Abigail, offered the honor of becoming the future king's wife, humbled herself as a servant. Stay humble. When you are honored or elevated, do not let it puff you up with pride; keep a humble, servant heart, as Abigail did in the midst of great honor. Keep a humble, servant heart even when you are honored or elevated, not letting a place of importance puff you up with pride, as when Abigail was offered the honor of becoming the wife of David, the man destined to be king, she responded not with pride but with striking humility, calling herself a servant ready to wash the feet of the servants of her lord; for she was being offered a place of great honor, to become the wife of the future king, yet her response was not to grasp at the honor with pride but to humble herself as a lowly servant, so that honor did not make her proud but found her humble, which holds a lesson about humility, since it is often easy to be humble when we are low and unhonored but the test of humility comes when we are honored, elevated, and given a place of importance, and honor and elevation tend to feed pride and give us a sense of our own importance and deserving, but true humility remains humble even in the midst of honor, not grasping at the elevation with pride or letting a place of importance puff us up but keeping a lowly, servant heart even when raised up, as Abigail called herself a servant ready to wash servants' feet, so that we do well to keep such a humble heart even when we are honored or elevated.

Lord, when Abigail is offered the honor of becoming the wife of David, the man destined to be king, she responds not with pride but with striking humility, calling herself a servant ready to wash the feet of his servants. Behold, your servant is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord, Abigail says, when David's men come to take her to him as his wife. She was being offered a place of great honor, to become the wife of the future king; yet her response was not to grasp at the honor with pride, but to humble herself, calling herself a lowly servant, ready even to wash the feet of the servants of the one who honored her. Honor did not make her proud; it found her humble. Show me Abigail's response to being honored. She was being offered a place of great honor: to become the wife of the future king. Many would have received such an offer with pride, with a sense of having arrived, of deserving the honor. But Abigail's response was humility: she bowed low and called herself a servant, ready even to wash the feet of the servants of her lord. The honor offered her did not puff her up; it found her humble. This holds a lesson about humility. It is often easy to be humble when I am low, unnoticed, unhonored; the test of humility comes when I am honored, elevated, given a place of importance. Honor and elevation tend to feed pride, to give me a sense of my own importance, of deserving. But true humility remains humble even in the midst of honor, not grasping at the elevation with pride, but keeping a lowly, servant heart even when raised up. Take that to my heart. When I am honored or elevated, keep me from letting it puff me up with pride; help me keep a humble, servant heart, Lord, as Abigail did in the midst of great honor, remaining lowly in heart even in the midst of elevation, for the test of humility comes when I am honored, not only when I am low.