The Bible says: ‘Clothe yourselves with humility…for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble…humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you’ (vv. 5-7 NASB). Let’s break this Scripture down into four parts: 1) ‘Clothe yourselves with humility.’ In this context the word ‘clothe’ refers to a white scarf or apron that was typically worn by servants. It doesn’t mean we’ve got to become people-pleasers, doing what everyone wants us to do because we’re humbly serving. We’re doing it for God, not other people, so we just need to be who God has called us to be and be willing to serve others when we get the opportunity. 2) ‘God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less and putting others first. 3) ‘Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.’ When we humble ourselves before God, we’re acknowledging His power, respecting His authority, and accepting His discipline. As we submit everything we are to God, He’ll use us and shape us into a more Christlike character. 4) ‘Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.’ We can worry that if we don’t look out for ourselves, nobody else will, but God cares for us, so we don’t need to be worrying about ourselves. And that frees us up to be thinking about the needs of other people.
