Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: 1 Peter 5 and Psalm 45

And all of you must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but shows favour to the humble.” ⁶ Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time. (Good News Translation)

When Peter exhorted the Christians to live lives of humility (in v.5), he used a rare word for humility (“ἐγκομβόομαι” transliterated into English as “egkomboomai”) which was ordinarily used to refer to a servant putting on an apron before performing their acts of service – just as Jesus did before washing His disciples’ feet (in John 13:4).

This word reminds us that humility is not an attitude which comes naturally to us humans. Positioning ourselves to serve the best interests of others is not something our sinful nature enjoys doing. It is a conscious decision and an act of one’s will. Humility is an “apron” we need to choose to put on because doing so will position us to obey Jesus’ command to love one another through service.

Because it does not come naturally, the apostle Peter encourages humility by reminding us of Proverbs 3:34, “God resists the proud, but shows favour to the humble.”  Positioning ourselves to serve others in humility also positions us to receive God’s favour. We could say, God honours those who honour others above themselves.

Surely being like Jesus and thereby positioning ourselves to receive God’s favour is all the motive we need to spur us on to humility?!

Life application: Be like Jesus today. Strap on an attitude of humility and seek to serve the highest best of others rather than your own. In every situation, look for opportunities to bless, support, encourage, assist and care for others with a Christlike attitude of love and humility. And in all of this, rely on the Spirit of Christ to empower you.