The Choice of Feasts: Humility's Crust or Pride's Plunder Text: Proverbs 16:19
Introduction: Two Dinners, Two Destinies
Every man, whether he knows it or not, has a dinner invitation. Before him are set two tables, two feasts, and he must choose which one to attend. He cannot attend both, and to refuse to choose is to have already chosen. This is not a choice between a good meal and a bad one, at least not in the way our fallen world calculates such things. It is a choice between two companies, two fellowships, that are set at mortal odds. It is a choice that reveals the fundamental orientation of a man's soul. It is a choice between two ultimate loyalties.
The first table is laden with what the world calls success. It is heavy with the spoils of conquest. The laughter is loud, the wine is expensive, and the guests are all very important people. They are the proud, the well-connected, the successful, the movers and shakers. They are the ones who have made their mark. To sit at this table is to be somebody. It is to share in the plunder, to get your cut of the action. It is the feast of respectable compromise, of savvy networking, of getting ahead.
The second table is far more modest. It is set in a low place. The food is simple, perhaps just bread and water, but the fellowship is genuine. The guests are the lowly, the humble in spirit. They are not the people you read about in the news, unless it is to mock them. They are the nobodies. They have no spoil to divide because their king was crucified. To sit at this table is to be an outcast in the eyes of the world. It is to be content with little, to be overlooked, to be considered a failure by every metric the first table holds dear.
Proverbs 16:19 places this choice before us with stark clarity. It is not a suggestion for a happier life, though it leads to one. It is a fundamental statement about the nature of reality. It is a declaration of allegiance. Where you choose to eat determines what you worship, and what you worship determines your ultimate destiny. Our generation is drunk on the wine of the proud. We are catechized from birth to strive for a seat at that first table. But God's Word calls us to a different feast, a different fellowship, and a different kind of honor.
The Text
It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
(Proverbs 16:19 LSB)
The Proud and Their Spoil
Let us first consider the second option, the one that God's wisdom tells us to reject. What does it mean to "divide the spoil with the proud?"
"...Than to divide the spoil with the proud." (Proverbs 16:19b)
The proud are those who live as though God is not. They may not be explicit atheists; in fact, the most dangerous forms of pride are often found among the religious. Pride is the native language of the fallen heart. It is the quiet, settled conviction that I am the center of my own universe, that my will is ultimate, and that my achievements are my own. The proud man is the self-made man, which means he worships his creator. The proud are those who have an exaggerated sense of their own importance and a corresponding disdain for those they deem lesser. In our day, this is the native air of our cultural elites, our academic guilds, our media talking heads, and our political class. They are proud, and they are not shy about it.
And what is their "spoil?" The word refers to plunder, the loot taken after a military victory. It is the reward of conquest. In the context of this proverb, it is the profit that comes from siding with the winners of this age. It is the corner office, the prestigious award, the fat consulting contract, the book deal, the political appointment. It is the wealth, status, and influence that come from playing the world's game by the world's rules. To "divide the spoil" means to get your share of the profits that come from a system built on rebellion against God.
But notice the verb: divide. You are not the conqueror here. You are simply getting a cut. You are a junior partner in their enterprise. This is the great temptation for Christians in every age, and especially in ours. The temptation is not usually to become a raving, godless pagan. It is the temptation to become a respectable, compromised Christian who gets a seat at the table with the proud. It is the temptation to trim your convictions just enough to get the promotion. It is the temptation to remain silent on the key moral issues of our day so that you can maintain your influence in the halls of power. It is to divide the spoil of a corrupt culture by agreeing not to challenge its foundational corruptions. You get the spoil, but the proud get your soul.
This is a fool's bargain. The previous verse warns us, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18). When you sign up to divide the spoil with the proud, you are signing up to be present for the destruction that is their guaranteed inheritance. Their feast is the last supper on the Titanic. The laughter is loud, but the iceberg is just ahead.
The Lowly and Their Fellowship
The alternative presented is not just a different strategy for success, but a different definition of it altogether.
"It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly..." (Genesis 16:19a LSB)
The contrast is absolute. Instead of the proud, we have the lowly. Who are these lowly? The Hebrew word can refer to the poor or the afflicted, but the context here, "humble in spirit," points to something deeper than an economic condition. The lowly are those who know their place before God. They are the "poor in spirit" whom Jesus called blessed (Matt. 5:3). They are those who have been crushed by the law and have no righteousness of their own to plead. They are the contrite, the ones who tremble at God's word (Is. 66:2). They are not defined by their lack of worldly status, but by their accurate assessment of their spiritual status. They know they are creatures, and sinners, and that their only hope is in the unmerited grace of God.
Because of this, they are often on the outs with the world. The world system, which runs on pride, has no category for them. They are not ambitious in the way the world understands ambition. They are not impressive. They are the faithful remnant, the small-town church that preaches the whole counsel of God, the family that chooses more children over a bigger house, the student who speaks the truth about gender and gets a failing grade. They are the lowly.
And the invitation is not to get something from them, but to be with them. The blessing is the fellowship itself. "It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly." This is a call to solidarity. It is a call to cast your lot with God's people, regardless of their social standing. It is better to eat a dry crust of bread in the company of the faithful than to feast on steak at the table of the compromisers. Why? Because God is there. "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in a high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit'" (Is. 57:15). The choice is between the penthouse suite with the proud, where God is not, or the humble cottage with the lowly, where God Himself resides.
The Great Reversal and the True Spoil
This proverb is a wisdom statement, but it is grounded in the logic of the gospel. The entire story of redemption is the story of this great reversal.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of one who made this choice. He was not lowly by nature; He was the high and lifted up One. He dwelt in eternal glory with the Father. Yet He chose to become humble in spirit with the lowly. "though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). He humbled Himself, taking the form of a servant, and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). He refused to divide the spoil with the proud. When Satan offered him the kingdoms of the world, the ultimate spoil, Jesus refused the deal. He chose the company of fishermen, tax collectors, and prostitutes over the company of the Pharisees and rulers.
And because He chose the path of humility, He was exalted. Because He went to the cross, He conquered sin, death, and the devil. And in His resurrection, He plundered the house of the strong man (Mark 3:27). He won the ultimate victory and now possesses the true spoil.
And what is that spoil? It is us. It is His people, rescued from the kingdom of darkness. The Father promised Him, "I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the plunder with the strong" (Is. 53:12). We are the plunder. We are the inheritance He won through His suffering. And in His grace, He turns around and divides that spoil with us. He shares His victory, His righteousness, His inheritance with all who are united to Him by faith. The proud think they are dividing the spoil of this world, but it is all fool's gold that will perish with the using. Christ invites the lowly to share in the eternal spoils of His victory, the riches of His grace, and the glory of His coming kingdom.
Conclusion: Choose Your Company
So the choice remains before us. It is a daily choice. It is the choice between two fellowships. Will you seek the approval and the benefits that come from siding with the proud? Will you chase after the world's definition of success, even if it means sanding the sharp edges off your faith? Will you divide the spoil of a dying world?
Or will you choose the better portion? Will you choose to be with the lowly? This means choosing the church over the world. It means choosing faithfulness over reputation. It means choosing the company of believers, with all their quirks and imperfections, over the polished and sophisticated company of the unbelieving elite. It means understanding that true honor is not found in the applause of men, but in the quiet approval of God, who dwells with the humble.
Do not be deceived. The table of the proud offers immediate rewards, but it ends in destruction. The table of the lowly may seem like a poor substitute now, but it is a foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is where true fellowship is found, where God dwells, and from which all who sit there will be exalted in the last day. It is far better to be a humble doorkeeper in the house of God than to feast in the tents of wickedness. Choose your company, for in doing so, you are choosing your king and your kingdom.