All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another …
Summary: Peter sketches out a simple phrase full of meaning. He teaches us about humility and our need to put it on each day.
Peter’s letter is short as Biblical letters go. It is four or five pages in most Bibles, depending on the font size. Yet, for its size, it contains a phenomenal amount of information. It packs in a summary of almost every major point in the New Testament.
To squeeze all this information into such a tiny space, Peter uses the sketch artist’s trick of capturing a face with very few lines. The artist focuses on capturing form instead of detail. The line itself becomes part of the art. The elegance of the line complements the form, and the two blend to communicate a complete idea.
Today Peter addresses all of us. He instructs us to “clothe” ourselves with humility. Isn’t that a suggestive word? With one simple word, Peter explains how we become more humble. We don’t have to change ourselves from the inside out. We simply put on humility like a warm winter coat. Regardless of our feelings on the inside, our humility is what people see.
The other thing about clothes is that we put them on every day. Nobody puts on clothes and never takes them off. Each morning brings a new need to clothe ourselves in humility. Each day we wear our humility all day long. In the evening, we carefully repair any tears or wear and prepare our humility for tomorrow. We do this by focusing on our Lord Jesus. I guess you might say, when it comes to humility, He wore it best.
Application: Adopt an attitude of humility and practice it every day.
Food for Thought: Why is humility focused towards ”one another?”
I like to show humility towards other to show The Holy Spirits work in others to ultimately give the Glory to Him not of what I do.
Well done, Tim!
It is sort of like a spiritual uniform, isn’t it?
Good point Tim.
I agree – humility allows others to see God rather than us. It takes attention of off us and places it on Christ, where it belongs.
The opposite of humility – pride – seeks mans approval instead of God’s approval. It is directed at people because we seek their reward instead of God’s reward. Matthew 6: 1 – 4, 16 – 21.
Link added – JE
Rich,
Nice contrast! Your definition of pride jumps out at me in a way that I haven’t seen it before when you contrast it against a backdrop of humility. Thank you!
Why is humility focused towards ”one another?”
God hates pride because it is the root cause of all forms of sin. Pride closes the door to spiritual life of growth, while humility opens the door of our life to ever increasing grace from God.
Solomon wrote, Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them” .
The Bible has many examples of conflicts between people. Peter and Paul disagreed sharply over the issue of Gentile Christians and whether or not they should be made to observe Jewish rituals and practices. Paul and John Mark had a conflict and parted ways. King David experienced conflict within his family which led to divisions and death. Conflict will happen between believers. It is inevitable, but it does not have to be unhealthy.
Paul wrote, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.
When I am clothed, “living in” the Spirit of humility, I demonstrate my relationship with Jesus as He is seen in my actions and set an example for others. I do not view the other person as my enemy, as I seek to give first priority to understanding their viewpoint.
Proverbs 26:12, Philippians 2:3, Philippians 2:5–8,
Link added – JE
Ron,
Thank you for sharing this important perspective. Good people can still disagree, but if we are clothed in humility, our approach to disagreement is loving instead of confrontational.
One thing being in business is humility,..because the customer is always right,..even if it’s not any fault on my part. I just agree with them so to not cause any confrontation.
It’s not my fault that the wood post twists before the year warranty is up, but it’s my responsibility to replace it if asked to,..
Maybe that’s what sets this little fence company God has given me to share with the five employees He has bestowed upon me apart from others,.. is humility,..
I give God all the credit for what He has done in and through me,..and I am humble at sharing the gospel with those that listen,..sometimes there are some great genuine conversations about Jesus and other times the conversation gets cut short because of the name of Jesus,..in situations like that I have to be humble enough to cut it short and move on,..it’s not easy but God knows my heart and the beautiful thing is that I have been forgiven for being humble enough to back off and move on,..the main thing in all of it is that God is glorified because the name of Jesus has been mentioned,..another seed planted,..not sure of the soil it’s been planted in,…but planted none the less,..guess you can call me Johnny Scatter Seeds
One thing being in business has taught me is humility,..
Sometimes my brain moves faster than my fingers on the keyboard,..tend to run through the sentence without writing half of the sentence,..I am humble enough to say that I am certainly not perfect,..but confident enough to say that with Christ all things are possible,..
John,
I knew what you meant. 🙂
And thank you! I deeply appreciate your humble insight.