Walking Humbly

Scripture:

5In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.” a
6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 

1 Peter 5:5-7

Devotional:

C.S. Lewis once said (and I’m paraphrasing this) that humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. I think there is a huge reason behind why Peter is telling us that followers of Christ should walk in humility. 

Humility doesn’t come naturally to most people. And why should it? We are conditioned by the world to be self-focused. Focus on your career, focus on your relationships, find your spouse, “discover yourself,” and work on yourself are all things that are pushed to people in our world.

These motivations put the focus on ourselves and ultimately lead to self-absorption. Jesus' way is to humbly think of others instead of ourselves. This passage says that God opposes the proud (self-absorbed) and gives favor to the humble (others-focused). This is Jesus' plan for our lives: to give everything we can away for Him and His kingdom. 

Today, I encourage you to consider how you can live in God’s favor by being humble in both your actions and attitude, and by avoiding self-absorption. 

Prayer:

Father, in a self-absorbed world, help me to be focused on Your presence, Your peace, and on the well-being of others. Help me not to be led by the world, but instead to be led by Your Spirit. Amen.