All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5
How do I turn on the water at the sink? How can it be this difficult? At a public washroom in France, I suddenly felt very inept. There were no hot or cold knobs to turn on, so I gave up and decided to use hand sanitizer instead. It wasn’t until later, at another bathroom, that I realized there are foot pedals, a blue one for cold and a red one for hot, that turn the water on at the sink. Voilà! Mystery solved!
Traveling internationally can be a humbling experience. The little things in life that we totally take for granted at home can be problematic abroad. I think there must be at least a dozen ways to flush a toilet in Europe, some of which are obvious and others are not. Likewise, pumping gas when the directions are in a foreign language can be challenging. Driving a rental car where the road signs are in a different language and the rules of the road are not intuitive can be a bit nerve-racking. Even though I’ve had my driver’s license since I was sixteen, I still felt like a novice driving a car in France.
Travel has a way of humbling you. You think you know how things work, but there are constant surprises that make you feel less than intelligent and far from competent. There are language and cultural barriers that can become insurmountable walls where you might as well just wear a sign around your neck saying, “I’m sorry. I’m just a foreigner. Please forgive me!” The locals are more likely to be helpful and friendly if you attempt to speak their language. Trying to adapt to foreign customs, no matter how clumsy our efforts, will open doors. Having a humble and teachable attitude goes a long way, too.
Our key verse today highlights how behaving toward each other with humility builds relationship and models Jesus’ own behavior. God will shine His favor on you when you act in humility toward others. He actually opposes the proud. Pride has a way of getting between people and destroying relationships. Humility builds relationships. Philippians 2:3-5 puts it this way, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” Humility is essentially having a right perspective of yourself in relation to others, not thinking of yourself as better or superior, nor allowing yourself to be a "doormat", but being willing to put others’ needs above your own. The opposite of humility is pride.
Pride not only creates barriers to relationship with others, it can also come between us and our relationship with God. The text in the second chapter of Philippians goes on to say that Jesus humbled himself in obedience to God, even to death on a cross (verse 8). In doing so, Jesus’ act of ultimate humility created a relationship between God and us.
James 4:8 says to “come near to God and He will come near to you”. Seeking God requires humility on our part as we acknowledge God is the great “I Am”, the Lord of the universe, the Creator of all, and the Savior to those who believe.
I am thankful that Jesus’ humility on the cross paved the way for restoring our relationship with God. Walking in humility, whether in our own neighborhood or on the other side of the pond, is what we are called to do. Humility opens the doors of relationship, both with those we meet and with God Himself.
Lord Jesus, thank You for humbling Yourself on the cross in obedience to God the Father. May I seek humility in my relationship with You and with those I meet as I travel along this road of life. Amen.
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Text and photograph copyright © 2017 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of sunflower field near Avignon, France.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
How do I turn on the water at the sink? How can it be this difficult? At a public washroom in France, I suddenly felt very inept. There were no hot or cold knobs to turn on, so I gave up and decided to use hand sanitizer instead. It wasn’t until later, at another bathroom, that I realized there are foot pedals, a blue one for cold and a red one for hot, that turn the water on at the sink. Voilà! Mystery solved!
Traveling internationally can be a humbling experience. The little things in life that we totally take for granted at home can be problematic abroad. I think there must be at least a dozen ways to flush a toilet in Europe, some of which are obvious and others are not. Likewise, pumping gas when the directions are in a foreign language can be challenging. Driving a rental car where the road signs are in a different language and the rules of the road are not intuitive can be a bit nerve-racking. Even though I’ve had my driver’s license since I was sixteen, I still felt like a novice driving a car in France.
Travel has a way of humbling you. You think you know how things work, but there are constant surprises that make you feel less than intelligent and far from competent. There are language and cultural barriers that can become insurmountable walls where you might as well just wear a sign around your neck saying, “I’m sorry. I’m just a foreigner. Please forgive me!” The locals are more likely to be helpful and friendly if you attempt to speak their language. Trying to adapt to foreign customs, no matter how clumsy our efforts, will open doors. Having a humble and teachable attitude goes a long way, too.
Our key verse today highlights how behaving toward each other with humility builds relationship and models Jesus’ own behavior. God will shine His favor on you when you act in humility toward others. He actually opposes the proud. Pride has a way of getting between people and destroying relationships. Humility builds relationships. Philippians 2:3-5 puts it this way, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” Humility is essentially having a right perspective of yourself in relation to others, not thinking of yourself as better or superior, nor allowing yourself to be a "doormat", but being willing to put others’ needs above your own. The opposite of humility is pride.
Pride not only creates barriers to relationship with others, it can also come between us and our relationship with God. The text in the second chapter of Philippians goes on to say that Jesus humbled himself in obedience to God, even to death on a cross (verse 8). In doing so, Jesus’ act of ultimate humility created a relationship between God and us.
James 4:8 says to “come near to God and He will come near to you”. Seeking God requires humility on our part as we acknowledge God is the great “I Am”, the Lord of the universe, the Creator of all, and the Savior to those who believe.
I am thankful that Jesus’ humility on the cross paved the way for restoring our relationship with God. Walking in humility, whether in our own neighborhood or on the other side of the pond, is what we are called to do. Humility opens the doors of relationship, both with those we meet and with God Himself.
Lord Jesus, thank You for humbling Yourself on the cross in obedience to God the Father. May I seek humility in my relationship with You and with those I meet as I travel along this road of life. Amen.
Want to subscribe to future posts? Click here.
Text and photograph copyright © 2017 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of sunflower field near Avignon, France.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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