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
If you were asked to list your top 5 virtues – your attributes or best qualities, what would they be? That’s not so easy for most of us to do, is it? I have been sitting here for 5 minutes trying to decide what I would write and I’m struggling.
I wonder if any of us would even consider writing “humility” on our list. I admit that I would not. Yet, I found a quote that says: “Humility is the rarest and most honored of all virtues.” In fact, it is mentioned over 100 times in Scripture, and our standard or example for being humble is the perfect life of Jesus Christ Himself. Isn’t it God’s greatest desire for our lives that we be more like Him?
Being more humble is a trait we all should strive to have. This verse beautifully expresses it as “clothing ourselves with humility toward one another,” and an even more beautiful expression is “God gives grace to the humble.” Oh, to have more of His grace! He gives it to us in such abundance, but couldn’t we all use more of it!
One of the most remarkable things about the life of our Savior is that He came to us as a helpless, vulnerable, powerless being, a child in a manger, and not as a conquering angel or a mighty emperor. He was born into a family of little financial means, and wealth, fame, or success were never goals He wished to attain. He came into the world simply to serve, to teach others about the love of God, and to give us His saving grace. And to be a child of God, we, too, must stand in complete humility – trusting not in our own abilities, but looking to Him – to receive what He desires to give us.
To God, our lives aren’t about how important we are or how we appear to the world. Being humble means that we see ourselves in an unassuming way, expecting and receiving less – when we might be worthy of more. Humility means not trying to impress others or seeking glory for ourselves. It is not about being self-centered, or seeing ourselves as better than others. True humility sees great value in others and balances their needs with our own.
Humility is the lack of arrogance or pride. It doesn’t mean we become less than we are or less than what God intended us to be. It means we let Him mold us into being the best we can be and giving Him all the honor and glory for all we are. May we live humble lives with our eyes centered on God and His goodness to us.
Prayer
Our most loving and gracious God, we humbly come before you with honor and praise for your goodness to us, for your love and grace, and for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ. May we be ever mindful that it is you, our loving Father, who created us, sustains us, and keeps us in His care. Amen
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