Humility

1 Peter 5:5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

You'd think humility would be a lot easier for me than it is.

After all, look at me. If not daily, then certainly multiple times a week I repeat sins I swore I was done with. At least that often, I fail to do things I decided I need to do. I miss devotions often enough to feel guilty about it; I sneak sweets, skip my workouts, forget to floss. Or, sometimes, remember I should floss and decide not to anyway. And, I've seen me in my underwear.

Yeah, I have overwhelming cause for humility.

How can it be, then, that I struggle with it so much? The first thing I thought when I read the above passage from 1 Peter was, "Glad I'm not a young man anymore." I didn't like that word "submit." But Peter doesn't let me off the hook: "All of you," he says, leaving no room for misunderstanding.

God opposes the proud; I know that. This isn't the first time I've read it, yet I can be awfully proud. Other than peacocks, few are as prone to pride as men at the peak of their careers. As if I did it all myself.

But God, in His grace, gets my attention once in a while with things I can't control or take credit for. When he does that, I remember that I am nothing without Him. I remember, too, that I can't serve Him faithfully without my brothers and sisters alongside me. It makes me want to apologize for my inattention, my pride, my self-centeredness.

I guess that's a kind of humility. It's a start.