Proud as a Peacock

“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”—Luke 14:11

There he was staring at his reflection in the glass door of the stripping house, a barn attachment once used for stripping tobacco.  But the irony in the picture was that the peacock had been stripped of his tail feathers…well, he had shed them. 

I had seen him in early summer admiring his reflection in the shine of the car door and had to admit he was stunning, his train of brilliant tail feathers extending four feet or more.  On a different occasion I had watched him shake his tail feathers and then fan them out in a beautiful array of blues and greens, turning around like a supermodel at the end of a runway.  Scientists say this is the peacock’s mating strut, designed to attract the peahen.  But I say he was just showing off for me, for there was not a peahen in sight. Hence, the origin of the saying proud as a peacock?

As he studied his own metamorphosed appearance in the glass, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was “proud” of what he saw, his once magnificent plumage now reduced to a few scrawny feathers, or was he pondering what happened.

The juxtaposition of the former fowl in full regalia with the now humble bird brought to mind Luke 14:11: “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

How many times have I been like the peacock, admiring all of my accomplishments, my position—even my face in the mirror—only to stand in front of the same mirror and wonder what happened. 

When we strut our stuff, so to speak, we are struttin’ in the danger zone, for we have forgotten that all we have and even who we are and what we have accomplished has only been made possible through Christ Himself, Who created all things (John 1:3).

Instead of sporting our stuff on the runway, let us “be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” (1 Peter 5:5; Proverbs 3:34) 

C. S. Lewis once said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” 

The Apostle Paul said, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.” (Romans 12:3)

And Jesus?  Well, He went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, and when he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable:  “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.  If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 14:7-11)

John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) When we realize we are powerless and can do nothing without the Lord—when we strip away pride like a peacock shaking off his tail feathers—we free God’s power to work within us, accomplishing “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20)  Let us give Him the proper place in our lives, for when we “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things will be given to us as well” (Matthew 6:33)—in full regalia.

Dear Lord, thank You for creating me in Your image and designing a plan for my life.  Help me to desire Your will and not mine.  Help me to take the least important place, so You can take first.  Amen.