1 Peter - Following Jesus Sample

How easy are you to lead? Being a good leader is hard. Being a good follower has its challenges as well.

Leaders are not to lord it over those entrusted to their care. They are to serve. Leaders are to lead with humility. Followers are to follow with humility too.

Those of us who are younger must decide to be submissive (v. 5). That will be hard, especially on days when we think we know better. But we are not to be stroppy or try to take over. We are to be easy to lead.

• Who needs to ‘clothe’ themselves in humility and why (v. 5)?

Every morning when we get up we choose some clothes and put them on. Peter wants believers to choose to put on an attitude of heart too. All Christians are to choose to clothe themselves with humility towards one another.

If you look at a person’s body, it is obvious which physical clothes they have picked. If you look at a person’s relationships within the church family, it will be obvious if they have chosen to put on humility. Will we act as if our own desires are more important than other people’s? Will we act as if we are always right?

Pride is such a dangerous game to play. We may succeed in making ourselves look big in front of others, but the illusion won’t last. Our opponent in this game is far bigger. Look who opposes the proud (v. 5). To have God as your enemy is a terrifying prospect. God will humble the proud in judgment on the last day.

• What must we do therefore, and why (v. 6)?

Humble yourselves. Do so yourself before God does it for you! We do not enter the Christian life humbly on our knees before God and then get up and begin to strut. We remain undeserving sinners in desperate need of God’s grace. We never graduate from that. God is God and we are not. We do well to remember that.

Those who walk humbly with God will walk humbly with their Christian brothers and sisters too. In the Christian life, the way up is down. God gives his favour to the lowly. Humble yourself now and in God’s good time he will ‘lift you up’.

Pray

Ask God to help you clothe yourself with humility as you relate to others in your church family.