Success and Humility, Humility and Success

I've always found this parable interesting.  Not so much for what it says but what is hidden.

Luke 14:7-11(NKJV)
So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: 
“When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; 
and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. 
But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. 
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

It sometimes seems to me that a lot of Christians think that everybody should be treated and viewed equally no matter what they may have or have not accomplished in life.  After all, we are all equal in the eyes of the Lord I have heard more than once.  But then I read the passage above and can't help but wonder if there is some sort of contradiction here.

I don't believe there is.  Here is my take on it.  In the case of "we are all equal in the eyes of the Lord", I think that is true in the context of salvation.  Salvation is freely available to anyone who wants to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  (Have you done that yet?  No time like the present!)

However as I have written elsewhere, Scripture clearly tells us that we won't all get equal rewards in Heaven.  If that is the case in Heaven then why would we expect it to be any different here?  In the context of the parable above, how does society determine if someone is honorable or not?  Isn't it to a large extent based on how much that person has been successful and contributed to society?   

I think that we in the Christian community should do more to celebrate success.  Success isn't a sin!  How we handle it however can be.  What is the best way to handle success?  I can't think of a better way then the example above.