The clothing of humility

. . . All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5b

And what, then, is humility? Surely Peter is not referring to the image that many of us conjure in our minds when we hear that word – false modesty, the refusal to accept a compliment, the constant putting down of oneself. We’ve all been there before. For instance, have you ever had this experience? In church someone has sung a song beautifully that has inspired you to worship God. Seeking to bless and encourage them, and, frankly, to thank them for using their talents in this way, you offer a compliment:

You: “Thank you so much for that song! You sang beautifully and it really touched me and led me into worship.”

Them: “Oh, please, don’t praise me. Praise God.”

When what would have been far more edifying (and, frankly, a whole lot simpler) would have been the following exchange:

You: “Thank you so much for that song! You sang beautifully and it really touched me and led me into worship.”

Them: “Thanks.”

Many of us have actually been on both sides of that exchange. I’m particularly bad about accepting compliments myself. And that isn’t humility. Neither pride nor false modesty equate to humility, because they both are attitudes of the heart that have self as their first concern. And true humility is not self-focused. True humility is rare – in fact some of the humblest people you’ll ever meet may not at first seem to be particularly humble. Because they don’t act humble, they are humble, and that is a subtle yet crucial distinction. True humility is the joyful forgetfulness of self that points one’s heart and attentions toward God and toward others. Being around someone who is truly humble is, frankly, a respite from the modesty and pride games that we so often engage in. It’s a treat!

Peter tells us to “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another”. I’m intrigued by Peter’s use of the word “clothe” here (not being a Greek scholar I can’t move any further beyond “I’m intrigued” . . .). It’s an interesting concept. Throughout history, clothing has been an indicator of humility, of modesty. Here we are being asked to “clothe ourselves” with humility. Almost as if humility is something we “put on”, like clothing.

I’m treading on shaky ground here, perhaps, because I don’t want to misrepresent the command. But have you noticed how many times in the New Testament we are asked to “put on” something? We are told to “put on the full armor of God”, to “put on the new self”, to “put on love”. I believe that just as clothing is not part of our fleshly bodies, humility is foreign to the Flesh. It’s not a natural thing for us. It’s something that we have to “put on”.

There have been times when I have believed I was “clothing myself with humility” when actually I was, metaphorically, wearing an outfit that would make Liberace blush. And that’s the key – anytime in your heart of hearts you are saying “look at me!” you are a far country away from humility. Have you ever had this thought in that secret place your heart: “I hope people notice how humble I am”? I admit, I have.

No, true humility is the modest clothing of self-forgetfulness. True humility doesn’t get embarassed, and doesn’t guard its pride, because it’s not thinking about itself at all. I’m reminded of that famous and most ancient exchange:

[Adam] answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

And [God] said, “Who told you that you were naked?” – Genesis 3:10-11a [emphasis mine]

How on earth had Adam and Eve not realized that they were naked? I believe it’s because, before the fall, they had never really thought of themselves at all, at least not in the way we think of ourselves. We can’t fathom how an unfallen mind considers itself. It’s not that they were dumb or blind. I can guarantee you, for instance, that Adam knew Eve was naked. “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”

We won’t know what that was like until we stand redeemed in the presence of our Savior. So, in the meantime, we are to clothe ourselves.

With humility.

13 thoughts on “The clothing of humility

  1. Great stuff, Bill.

    On the compliments thing, it is something with which I struggle. Being a pretty good singer, I have often been complimented by several people after a service for a song I sang. I used to really stammer about it being God’s whatever not mine. Then He revealed to me that it was not how I should respond and while it’s still hard sometimes, now I always just say, “Thank you.”

  2. Thanks Jen

    I still struggle with that (not that anyone ever compliments my singing :-), but on any compliment).

    It would be cool to hear you sing sometime – do you have an mp3?

  3. Great post, Bill.

    I too have learned to say thank you when someone says, “Great sermon”. My dear wife taught me that. I said to her one day after church, “Those compliments embarass me and make me feel awkward. Why can’t they just say something like “the Holy Spirit really used the message today to bring me closer to God or make me more like Jesus.”? And she said,

    “Phil, that’s what they are saying. When they say, “Good sermon” most people mean that God used it to touch them or encourage them or challenge them or affect them in some way.

    So I now know that’s what people mean. And when I say “thank you”, I mean “thank you for letting me know that God used the message to help you. I’m glad you told me. It is both humbling and encouraging to me. And I’m grateful to God that he allows me to see some of the good that came out of it.”

  4. Shrode, that’s exactly it.

    Bill, I know there are random recordings and video of me singing over the years. I hate the idea of it being out there, so no, there’s no mp3. 😀

    Will it help to tell you that I’ve been told that I sound like a mix of Stevie Nicks and Kate Pierson (of the B-52s)? This was by a drunk guest at a friend’s wedding for whom I sang. I’ve also been told I sound a lot like a blend of Twila Paris, Sandi Patty, and Amy Grant – that’s more accurate.

  5. Yes, a most excellent study, Bill, and I know you’ll accept these kudos in an attitude of humility! 😉

    And, it’s actually liberating in a way to finally get to the point where you can just say “thanks” to compliments. And, besides the implications about humility, the person offering a sincere compliment does so in the hope that he or she is giving you a delightful gift. To deflect that gift — especially from insincere motives — is akin to an insult (although that’s a bit harsh, I suppose). A simple heartfelt “thanks” works for all parties involved.

  6. Bill,

    For the study on humility–thanks! I offer a bit of reflection for those who do something that may garner a compliment. This was brought into clear focus for me a couple of weeks ago. I had just finished teaching in a worship service to one of the largest crowds of the year. I had delivered a message that I believed God gave me and I thought I had done so faithfully. I was scheduled to play guitar in the last song of the service. As the song started I thought, maybe if I go down and don’t play on this song, I might get some nice compliments.” I started down the steps and as I did so thought, “I am in no frame of mind to receive a compliment–it would just be about me and I don’t want that.” I turned around, picked up my guitar and stayed on stage until most everybody had gone. Here is my point: When we do something that may bring a statement of “that was a great job” and do not have the needed humility to handle the compliment one of two tings will happen. 1) We will take the compliment for ourselves and we miss the blessing of glorifying God, or 2) We withdraw and miss the blessing of hearing how God used our obedience to Him. Either way we loose when we are not humble.

  7. Hmm . . . good point! Funny thing is, I tend to feel guilty when I just say “thanks” when someone compliments me (e.g. I’m one of the pianists at our church and sometimes get compliments – sometimes the opposite as well!). But I get what you’re saying.

    It reminded me of something someone told me the other day about the goal of the Christian life being to realize how insignificant we are. Not beating myself up about how I mess up, but realizing that I, and what I do, just really don’t matter – Christ matters.

  8. dang, I never thought of genesis 3:10 like that.

    You talked about humility, without quoting c.s lewis [though he does make some great points on it] thats pretty amazing.

    anyway, nice take on everything, i’m loving it [oh geeze am i corporate slave to the man or what? i’m quoting mcdonalds]

    –steven

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