WEDNESDAY
Yesterday we looked at Peter’s instructions to the church leaders and to the congregants. Today we see his instructions to everyone in the church.
1 Peter 5:1-5 1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful.
In verses 5-8, Peter gives four general instructions to the church:
- Be humble
- Be sober-minded
- Be watchful
- Resist the devil (we will talk about this one tomorrow)
He repeats the call to be humble twice. They are to “clothe themselves with humility toward one another.” Both the leaders of the church and the congregants are to be humble towards one another. Remember from last week, humility was not a virtue of the Greco-Roman world. Instead it was frowned upon as a sign of weakness. But we are to all be humble like Jesus. Jesus humbled himself in the incarnation and even further in the cross. In the same way, we are all to “die to self.”
Humility, as has famously been said, is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. The secular solution to low self-esteem is high self-esteem (i.e., pride). This will not do. Instead the biblical definition of humility is self-forgetfulness. There is a real freedom in self-forgetfulness. It is, paradoxically, a part of living a life of joy, as Tim Keller reveals in his great little book I’ve linked you to below. Humility frees you to live in service to God and others. Humility frees you from constantly being offended. It frees you from the endless concern of self-image and self-promotion. It frees you from the endless pursuit and subsequent disappointment of success. It is an essential aspect of living the abundant life in Christ.
The people Peter is writing to had lots of reasons to be anxious. They lost their homes and maybe their families. They faced suffering and persecution. They lost their inheritance and financial stability, all while living in a foreign country under the authority of an oppressive government. Instead of constantly fighting to gain these things back, they are to entrust themselves to their faithful creator and do good.
Humility frees us from the constant toil of appeasing our anxieties. It’s not enough to say, “stop thinking about yourself.” We have to think about something. The simple answer is to think about God more. They are to cast their anxieties upon God. God will not ignore them or remain indifferent. Instead, he cares for his people. That’s a truth that is too glorious to fathom. GOD CARES FOR YOU. Run to him with your anxieties. Cast them upon him, especially the anxieties related to the things you cannot control, which for most of us is the majority of our anxiety.
Peter reminds us by quoting Proverbs 3:34 that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. This is a stark warning to the proud. Puffing up one’s chest towards God is a ludicrous idea, yet in our pride, we humans do this all the time.
He also reminds us that we are to humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt us. The “mighty hand of God” refers to the displays of God’s power, i.e., creation, parting the Red Sea, the 10 plagues, raising Jesus from the dead, etc. Again, puffing up one’s chest or holding up your chin to God who did these things is ludicrous. How silly it is for us to boast when God exists. Humility makes no sense without a trust in the eternal, all-powerful God. But if this God exists, it is the only logical conclusion.
In humbling ourselves, we are free from the constant pressure to exalt ourselves. God will exalt us at the proper time. Again, the hope is held out to suffering Christians—keep following the way of Jesus even in the midst of suffering and wait for God to exalt you. Just as Jesus was exalted in the resurrection and ascension after his humiliation on the cross, so Christians will be exalted in the life to come after the suffering in this life.
To wrap up this section, he calls them to be “sober-minded” and “watchful.” Sober-minded means just as it sounds—not drunk. Instead, we must have a clear mind, that is, think rightly and clearly. This involves thinking clearly about following the way of Jesus in the midst of suffering, humbling ourselves before God and towards one another, and clinging to the truth of the gospel. Being watchful involves being alert to the spiritual battle raging all around us. So many of us in our western, American church culture are sleeping through a spiritual war like Peter, James and John were in the garden with Jesus. We are lulled to sleep by the cares of this world, our selfishness and lack of concern for the things of God. The devil wants nothing more than for us to remain sleeping. We will launch into this tomorrow.
Additional Content
Friends, wouldn’t you want to be a person who does not need honor—nor is afraid of it? Someone who does not lust for recognition, and on the other hand, isn’t frightened to death of it? Don’t you want to be the kind of person who, when they see themselves in a mirror or reflected in a shop window, does not admire what they see but does not cringe either? Wouldn’t you like to be the type of person who, in their imaginary life, does not sit around fantasizing about hitting self-esteem home-runs, daydreaming about successes that gives them the edge over others? Or perhaps you tend to beat yourself up and to be tormented by regrets. Wouldn’t you like to be free of them? Wouldn’t you like to be the skater who wins the silver, and yet is thrilled about those three triple jumps that the gold medal winner did? To love it the way you love a sunrise? Just to love the fact that it was done? For it not to matter whether it was their success or your success. Not to care if they did it or you did it. You are as happy that they did it as if you had done it yourself—because you are just so happy to see it.
- Keller, Timothy. The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness (pp. 34-35). 10Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Reflection
Reflect on humility and the joy of self-forgetfulness. Set your attention on God today when you find your thoughts too self-focused. Cast your anxieties upon him because he cares for you.