This verse is not an encouragement to commit suicide rather than embarrass yourself by over-indulging in front of a very important person. That would be very bad counsel and thankfully the Bible has exactly none of that. When you read a verse of scripture and it seems to make no sense (or worse – gives bad counsel), get the commentaries, ask your pastor, or at the very least “use a lifeline”. There is no shortage of misunderstanding and misusing scripture in the world today. Cults start that way. Even political causes use scripture to create arguments to justify their position. On occasion they are accurate, but more often than not they pull it out of context of the entirety of scripture and end up cheapening God’s truth. Today, live His word and let your life speak His truth accurately.
