Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
1 Peter 5:5
Over and over again throughout the scripture we see the theme of humility. It’s not a popular lifestyle these days, but then again it never really has been. We live in a culture where it’s all about me. For many, the goal of life is comfort, money, status, and reputation. It’s human nature. It is not, however, God’s nature. For God it is quite the opposite. You see, God’s concern is not of himself, but for his people.
He wants us to be the same way. Throughout scripture, God exhorts his people to humble themselves, to think less of themselves and more of others. In Philippians 2, Paul says that we should live this way because Jesus himself did. He says that even Jesus, who had every reason to be proud, to boast, to think of himself as greater than others, refused to. It says that instead, he considered everyone better than himself. He did so even to the point of letting himself be crucified for us. Was he better than us? Certainly. Did he act that way? Not once.
How many times a day do we think about ourselves? We think about how much money is in our account, how much food is in our pantry, and how much people like us. We think about our future, our plans, and how to make our lives better. How many times a day do we think about all of those things, but for our neighbor? Not many. But that’s the way Jesus thought.
Follow the example of Jesus, and clothe yourself in humility. Think of others as more important than yourself. For in the end, the proud will be humbled and the humble will be exalted.
Prayer:
Father,
Humble me. Help me to think not about myself but about others. Let me look not only to my own needs but to the needs of my neighbor. Lord, give me grace when I fail, and send your Holy Spirit to guide me.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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