January 26, 2023

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:6 – “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. “

What it means

This is a tough verse for many of us today who don’t see much value in retaining any sort of humility…lashing out and putting others down while trying to elevate ourselves seems to be more the order of the day. But unfortunately, while the world may be enamored with that approach, God really isn’t. Right before this in verse 5, the apostle Paul quotes an Old Testament verse from Proverbs 3:34 – “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

What it means to me

I’m not trying to put anybody down with this…we all have moments where we feel the need to spread our peacock feathers and try to impress somebody, present company included (although Jan isn’t typically impressed with me when I do). But if you study scripture at all, there are passages galore that drive the point home of what Paul is trying to teach us: If God shows favoritism to anybody, it won’t be to the proud. It will be to the humble, the meek, the vulnerable…those will be the ones that God will “lift up in due time.” So let’s do our best to swallow our pride and remain humble – even if we see others doing just the opposite. As we talked about on Tuesday, let’s be different. Let’s stand out in a good way – it may or may not impress the world. That should never be our agenda. We are in the business of trying to bring a smile to the face of The Lord – and if we can humble ourselves, we’re well on our way!

Love you guys, see you in church on Sunday!

In Christ,

Brian