#TuesdayTruth 1 Peter 5:5b-7

“…All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

When the history books are written about the period of time in which we are currently living, I doubt very seriously that humility will be something that is readily seen woven in the fabric of that story. There are many verses in scripture that address humility and, conversely, many that address pride; so I think it is important to dig a little deeper into the topic of being humble and what that really means.

So, what is humility? I think it is important to point out that being humble does not mean being hyper-critical of oneself. When searched in the dictionary, a definition of humility is “freedom from pride or arrogance” (www.merriam-webster.com). We are to recognize that we are ALL created in His image and we have ALL fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We are told that we should not “think of yourself more highly than you ought…” (Romans 12:3).

Well then, why can it be so difficult to humble ourselves? Is it the culture of “do more with less time,” “if you’re not first, you’re last,” “stop whining and keep going,” “achieve, achieve, achieve,” etc? I am not 100% sure why it is so hard, but it must be important to do it because God tells us again and again the benefit of being humble. For just a few:

  • He will lift us up when the time is right (1 Peter 5:6, James 4:10, Luke 14:11).

  • The reward of humility “are riches and honor and life” (Prov 22:4).

  • He “shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6).

A few things I find interesting in this particular scripture:

  • He says to “clothe yourselves with humility.” I am not a Bible scholar, so I do not know the significance of this in terms of the language the Bible was originally written or the context to that particular time, but for me, personally, this means that this is something that I do EVERY SINGLE DAY. Go with me here for a second- I get dressed (or “clothed”) every single day, so when I do that, it sounds like I should also put on humility as a part of that.

  • Another thing that I notice here is that He tells us, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand…” What better place to humble ourselves than under the protection of our sovereign, Heavenly Father?! This is a place of protection, of safety, a place we can fully trust and feel secure.

  • Last, it is so interesting (and probably no coincidence) that He follows the instruction on being humble with a verse about how to deal with anxiety. I have to believe that the less prideful we are, the less stress and anxiety that we have. It sounds so simple- do not be prideful, rest under His mighty hand, and give that mighty hand all that troubles you, “because he cares for you.”

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for Your word, for giving us insight into You, Your Character. Thank you for lifting up the low in spirit. Thank you for the assurance that You, our Great, High and Mighty Heavenly Father, you care for us.

We love You Father, Amen.

Drew Gonzalez