When hiking, I always appreciate the markers along the way that point you in the direction of your desired destination, such as a lake or overlook.  Otherwise a person could spend hours hiking on wrong paths and never get to their destination.  When it comes to the path to God, Jesus makes it very clear that it begins with humility.  Take a moment and read Luke 14:1-11.  In it Jesus heals a person on the sabbath and then tells a parable about a banquet in which people try to push themselves ahead to the best seats. So how do this healing story and parable go together to make a point.  Look at the healing story, what were the religious leaders doing?  Watching, but not just watching with interest, they were watching with a critical eye to see if Jesus would break their so-called sabbath-laws by healing someone.  They could then, point to His law-breaking and feel smug in their own righteousness.  

Now note how in the parable Jesus warns against pushing oneself ahead at a banquet.  He probably wasn't just giving good social advice; it was a parable so the point of the parable is about life in God's kingdom.  People who push ahead in the kingdom do so because they think they deserve it and are not in need of God's grace and mercy.  So what we have here in this healing story and parable is a picture of pride.  Pride does two things in its self-righteousness.  It is critical of others who fail and perceives that it would be inappropriate for God to provide mercy and grace in those people's lives.  Prideful, self-righteous people perceive themselves as not in need of grace and mercy; they deserve God's generosity.  N.T Wright gives a great line related to this: "Pride, notoriously, is the great cloud which blots out the sun of God's generosity..."  Humility is the opposite.  A humble person doesn't focus on the failures of others, but is keenly aware of their own imperfections and approaches God seeking His generosity of grace and mercy. Just a additonal thought related to