“All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” 1 Peter 5:5
This is a verse that is easy to quote by itself, but means so much more when taken in context. Chapter 5 talks first about the responsibilities of those who are older. They are to shepherd those in their care and when they do, God promises them a crown of glory when Christ returns. Then we come to this verse on submission, followed by another verse that is often quoted alone: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Taken in context, we see that verse 5 is surrounded by promises! It’s bookended with promises of a crown of glory and peace in the midst of anxiety, and the verse itself includes a promise of God’s grace given to the humble. In this light, I can see even more clearly why Satan wants us to be proud. He wants to steal God’s promises from us. No wonder God opposes the proud!
So how do we clothe ourselves with humility? That’s a tough one! For one thing, if we’re concerned about being humble or proud, we’re sunk. We can’t achieve humility. We can’t decide to not be proud and expect our pride to disappear. In my opinion, the only way to be humble is to understand more of Who God is. If we truly understood the awesomeness and greatness of the God we serve, it would not be possible to have pride. Pride comes from having our eyes on ourselves instead of our loving Father.
My prayer for all of us is that we would seek God in humility. May He show us areas of pride in our lives and work gently within us to remove them. And may we be willing to submit to His work in our hearts so we can be clothed in the humility that comes from knowing God.