Bible Text: 1 Peter 5:5-7 | Preacher: Pastor Joe Ricchuiti | Series: 1 Peter, Authority and Humility

Peter calls for submission and humility on the part of the church members toward God, each other, and toward the leadership. When believers are prideful or let “self” get in the way they cannot submit or serve one another as they should.
Jesus was the example of humility Peter probably had in mind when he told them to “clothe themselves” with humility. Jesus, at the ‘last supper,” removed His outer garment, wrapped a towel around Himself and washed the feet of the disciples.
One of the greatest struggles in the Christian life is the struggle with pride and the development of genuine humility. When a Christian lacks humility it interferes with their service; interferes with closeness to God; interferes with relationships with others in and out of the Body of Christ; and it opens the door for Satan’s work. Conversely, humility is essential to right relationships and service, essential to God’s work in us, and essential to not giving Satan a place to work in our lives, and is a sign of spiritual maturity.
Pride is addiction to self. C.S. Lewis calls it the “essential vice,” more devastating, in his view, than “unchastity, anger, greed,” and “drunkenness.” It is especially dangerous because, as Eugene Peterson says, “it is held up on every side as a virtue, urged as profitable, and rewarded as an achievement.” He describes it as the “basic sin, the sin of taking things into our own hands, being our own god, grabbing what is there while you can get it, [it] is now described as basic wisdom: improve yourself by whatever means you are able; get ahead regardless of the price; take care of me first.”
Humility is not thinking poorly of ourselves or putting ourselves down. It is not being preoccupied with ourselves at all. “Humility is not demeaning ourselves and thinking poorly of ourselves. It is simply not thinking of ourselves at all (Wiersbe).” “We all tend to act as though one person in the world (ourselves) should take precedence over all others. Humility is ceasing to compete for top billing. Humility isn’t putting yourself down; it is ceasing to be preoccupied with yourself at all. A humble person takes a genuine interest in others’ need, feeling, and opinions. He knows God love and values him, so he doesn’t have to prove his value to himself or others (The Compact Guide to the Christian Life.)