Clothe yourselves with humility. 1 Peter 5:5 (NIV)
Think about your morning routine. The alarm goes off, you roll out of bed, and stagger toward the shower. You emerge from the shower and head toward the closet, and there you face the first of the day’s great choices! What am I going to wear?
That’s the picture Peter uses. In the same way we choose our clothes in the morning, we all need to choose the attitude of mind and heart that we are going to wear in the world.
1. Clothing is visible. Clothing is our most visible personal statement. It is the first thing that another person sees, and it forms part of the immediate impression we convey. Let humility be your personal statement. Let it be something that people see in you.
2. Clothing should be suitable. Is it warm or cold outside? What would be suitable clothing for the work you have to do today? A proud Christian is as ridiculous as a man on a beach wearing a winter jacket. Peter says, “If you want to follow Christ, choose humility.”
3. Clothing is a matter of choice. Your clothing is a part of your personal expression. You cannot control the circumstances of your life, but the attitudes you display are a matter of choice.
At the beginning of each new day, hanging in the closet are self-importance, self-promotion, and self-interest, and you have to decide if that is what you are going to wear. Peter says, “Leave those rags in the closet. Clothe yourself in humility!”
Do you think of your attitude as something that just happens to you, or do you see it as something that you intentionally choose? Why?
