Clothe Yourselves in Humility

-


Scripture: 1 Peter 5:5 (ESV)

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Devotion:

            It has been said that humility is a virtue we know we need, but we do not expect it to be much fun. Peter in today’s scripture addresses our need for humility as Christians. Today, it seems like all the fun is being had by those who indulge in humilities opposite, pride. Pride always looks like fun until you carry it to its logical end, uninhibited self-indulgence. This leads to the saying Peter quotes here that God opposes the proud. Ultimately, pride is self-destructive. Only humility leads ultimate peace with God and neighbor.

            There are a few things that we should note humility is not. First, it is not about hiding one's time, talents, and treasure. Humility does not go out of its way to publicize its positive attributes but neither does it hide them away. Next, humility is not hatred of oneself. Jesus instructs us to love God, our neighbor, and ourselves. Therefore, hating yourself is clearly ruled out. Finally, I suggest that humility is not weakness. Not standing up for oneself is an attribute of fear, or timidity. Humility will patiently stand its ground and not back down when challenged.

            The major question that gets asked about humility is: How do I acquire humility without being prideful? Chances are quite good actually that if you think and speak with others about your humility then you probably are really full of pride. Humility by its nature does not feel the need to advertise itself. When Jesus came to visit our planet, he was a perfect example of humility in action. Remember the humility of our Savior. How he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. To each of the devil’s invitations to sin, Jesus humbly responded with obedience to God.

            Think about Jesus again for a moment with me. Think of being God, having created all that exists. How humble must he have been to leave the perfection of heaven to visit a tiny blue dot of a planet. He came not to be crowned king and take any position of power and prestige, but to give himself up as a sacrifice to rescue a seemingly insignificant part of creation from destruction of its own making. As the psalmist states, “what is man that you are mindful of him?”

            Genesis tells us that we were a special creation. Yet we quickly disobeyed God and tried to be like God ourselves. John 3:16 declares that “God so loved the world, that he sent his only begotten son to save the world.” God’s humility is so great as to be beyond understanding. We must return God’s grace by acting as his loving agents in the world.

Prayer:

            God we will never truly comprehend what it must be like to be the ruler of the universe and yet love such undeserving creatures as us enough to die for us. We thank you and ask that you would clothe us with humility. Realizing the privilege that we have as your special creation may we live as  grateful creatures. Help us to declare the reality of your love to our hurting world. Amen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapter seven as an aid to interpreting the events that occurred last Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. On that da
Read more

Father Forgive Them

-
  Scripture: Luke 23:33-34 (ESV) 33  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Devotion:             The situation Jesus finds himself in here in today’s scripture is difficult for us to even imagine. A sham trial, no credible accusations of any kind, let alone any deserving of death, and yet here he is. A brilliant Rabbi, a teacher of the people who never led even one person astray from God’s will. This Holy One of God soon to be food for vultures.             This man who had done nothing wrong had no one in all the crowds who would speak up in his defense lest they be next to face the cross. An innocent man hung between two scoundrels. No voice from heaven declaring that this was the man that they were killing was actually the true Son of God. (See Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 12:28) No the heaven
Read more

Transgenderism letter

-
  This is a copy of my letter to my senators, representative, and President Biden. January 15, 2024 Dear President Biden, Senators T. Duckworth, R. Durbin, and Representative D. LaHood             I am writing to you because I am concerned about the situation affecting our children and grandchildren, namely transitioning them from one gender to another. This nation must adjust course concerning these “interventions” because they are dangerous, irreversible, and life-changing. Our country should not be permitting these procedures on minor children under any circumstances. We must also make sure that adults who seek this care are given informed consent as to the risks versus benefits of sex reassignment treatments.             There are many drawbacks to gender-affirming care for minors. Besides the loss of any ability to give or receive sexual pleasure and sterility these treatments cause, there are social and psychological effects that we have no way of identifying because these
Read more