What does Peter teach us about humility?

I am grieved by the state of our country and our world. There is so much hate and division. So much pride and anger. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times over the last couple of weeks, "Why can't people just respect one another as people?" God did not categorize people by the color of their skin, but rather by the god or God they followed. We don't read in the Bible that this person had such and such color of skin. We read in the Bible that this person was from this region and followed this god.

We are supposed to be a free nation where everyone is free to exercise their own religious beliefs and opinions without fear. Likewise, the freedom to make choices and not be ruled by a dictator allow for a varied view of life, God, religion, etc. We are all people created by God, at least that is my view and what I hold dear from the teaching in the Bible. As a person, I have different opinions from other people. This is shaped by my experiences, what I read, what I listen to, who I hang out with, and the list can go on and on. There are so many factors in what makes us the people we are. I want to be and try to be the kind of person who is appreciative of the differences around me, to treat all people with respect, and to treat people like people without categorization. I'm sure I fail sometimes, just like we all fail sometimes.

God made us unique for a reason (Romans 12). If we were all the same, then God's work would not be completed through us as He planned. If we were all, outspoken then no one would be listening. If we were all singers, then no one would be playing an instrument. If we were all extroverts, then there would be no introverts. If we were all serving in place, then no one would be going to the mission field.

As we wrap up the study of 1 Peter, which has been so timely, and is a great reminder that God is in control, I want to focus on verses 5-9.

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

Clothe yourself in humility. What is humility? Our trusty dictionary defines humility as "a modest or low view of one's own importance;" Not a low view of oneself, but a low view of one's own importance. Do we elevate ourselves above others, or do we contribute and interact with other's in mind? What is more important? To be right, or to love and respect others leaving room for their thoughts and opinions? I would argue the latter. The Greek word for humility is actually a compound word of ταπεινός(G5011) - humble or lowly and the base of φρήν(G5424) - understanding. Have a humble understanding. So, how does the English language define humble? The definition is virtually identical to humility - a low view of one's own importance. If we clothe ourselves in humility, then we are doing exactly what Jesus teaches, to treat others the way we want them to treat us (Luke 6:31) and not thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought (Romans 12:3).

Peter teaches us to "humble [ourselves] under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt [us] at the proper time, casting all our anxieties on Him, because He cares for [us] (vs 6-7). We do not exalt ourselves, God exalts us at the proper time. Have you ever jumped into a hobby, or job, or activity and just felt like you were stuck in the mud? I have! I decided in 2001 that I would go to graduate school to be a librarian. I love books, and I love going to school, but not this time. I didn't really spend much if any time in prayer about this decision to pursue graduate school, I just did it. Well, let me tell you, that was a miserable few months. I could not grasp the concepts, the class layout, nothing! It was like I was on a different planet and had no way to figure out what I was supposed to do, or how to interact. While in the middle of this experience, I had to search my heart and cry out to God for direction, which is what I should have done in the first place. In the end, I withdrew from the program, lost what was a significant amount of money at the time, and was generally humiliated - not the healthy kind of humility, but humility all the same. After going through that experience, I remembered just how important it is to consult God before jumping in to something. That is probably a trite example in light of some of the decisions that are before us today, but I hope it is a reminder that God cares. He wants us to be humble and to wait on Him. He wants us to listen to those older and wiser (vs 1-5). He wants us to depend on Him casting all our anxieties on Him. There is much to be anxious about right now, but God wants us to trust Him and give those worries to Him to deal with.

It is evident to me that our enemy is prowling around like a roaring lion. He is screaming in people's ears to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). We are unfortunately taking the bait. I hope that Christians are resisting him and standing firm in our faith, but some of us are falling into the trap. We are pointing fingers, taking sides, and categorizing those whom we are supposed to love and respect. We have to be wise to the devil's schemes. He is nothing but a liar (John 8:33), and we must stand firm in what we know to be true. If we aren't sure if it is true or not, then we search the Scripture to find out the truth.

Our first allegiance should always to be Jesus Christ. He did not make a difference between people. He loved all and rebuked those who were hiding behind religion. He humbled Himself by coming into this world as a baby and dying on a cross for our sins. All of this craziness going on right now is precisely why He came. He wants to cover our sin with His blood if we just accept Him as our Lord and Savior. He suffered more than we can even imagine, and some of us have suffered a great deal. Through it all, "the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." (vs 10) When we turn to Jesus, He does a new work in us. He changes our hard hearts into hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). He changes us from the inside out. BUT. We have to humble ourselves first. If we do not humble ourselves to follow Him, then He will not do this work in us.

We can kick and scratch and try to be self-made people. We can categorize and point fingers, stay angry and fill our hearts with hate. OR. We can value people as Jesus does. We can love people as Jesus does. We can respect people as Jesus does. We can humble ourselves as Jesus does. We can depend on God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We can have a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone. We can have new life instead of continuing to be dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1).

I encourage you to go back and read the whole book of 1 Peter. I mentioned it earlier, but I'll mention it again - this is a timely book. I had no idea we would be dealing with the things that we are in this nation and world five weeks ago. You know who did, though? God. He knew that we would need to read the words in 1 Peter and be reminded to have faith, obey authority, live in harmony, love others, and to be humble. None of this is a surprise to Him. We can trust that God is in control. He will bring it all in line with His purpose. He promises to "perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."(vs 10) God does not make promises that He does not keep.

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