for 18 NOV 06: ADVANCE TO THE REAR

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find this item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.)

Two plates of food were stacked in one hand, with a beverage cup in the other. As I searched for a place to eat at a recent luncheon, I chose a wide-open empty table along a wall. Soccer coaches and players should understand this. You always move to the open space, as long as you're not offside.

After a couple of bites of lunch, a friend walked over to my otherwise-empty table. "Why are you sitting here all by yourself?" she asked.

I'd rehearsed the answer to myself before she came over. "When you're invited to a feast, you sit at the back. And you wait for someone to invite you up. I read that in a book once." Before you start guessing - no, my bookshelves have nothing by Miss Manners.

"I think you should move up," the woman told me - even offering to help carry a plate or cup. I was able to handle all of it by myself while changing tables. Single guys learn how to do this, even without balancing anything on their heads.

The woman was obviously concerned about my sitting all alone, while others were together at other tables. But in only a few minutes, the chairs around my place at the luncheon would have been filled with other diners. It would have been a "potluck" of people, if not main dishes.

But let's step back to what I told the concerned woman. Have you figured out what book I read, to learn about where to sit at feasts? This one stumps a lot of people - because they usually read this book to learn how to get close to heaven, not find a table for dinner on earth.

Believe it or not, the book which gives guidance on where to sit at a feast is the Bible. In fact, the advice came from Jesus in Mark 14. He said if you presume you deserve a nice seat, someone may be invited who will trump you. And if you've ever watched "The Apprentice," you know it's important not to be Trumped....

Why would Jesus stop for a moment in the Bible to give seating tips for banquets? His own words offer the answer. If you take a far-off or "lowest place" and wait to be invited up, you're showing an attitude of humility instead of pride. Humility is a lost trait nowadays. If you don't believe it, drive to this weekend's Iron Bowl game -- and check the fans, not the players.

This incident is especially timely because of the season we're in. Thanksgiving is this coming week, and the church I attend is having a pre-Thanksgiving dinner this weekend. The humble person should realize the need to be thankful - at least to other people, and hopefully to the One who gives all good things. We should note here that "One" is NOT named Santa Claus....

May this time of year find you not only thankful for your blessings, but humble enough to realize the need to thank someone for them. If you do that, it might be a stairstep to something nicer and better down the line. If you don't - well, there should be a chair open next to mine against the wall.

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