Read with Me
1 Peter 5:5-7 (HCSB)
In the same way, you younger men, be subject to the elders. And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because
God resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.
Listen with Me
Peter had helped the elders to see their responsibilities more clearly. Now he turns his attention to the younger men.
The words “in the same way” refer back to verse 3 where Peter reminds the elders that they are to be examples to the flock so that they can be rewarded by Jesus when he appears. In the same way, the younger men are to be examples of humility and of proper submission to authority.
This warning is important, because one of the key characteristics of youth is impatience and a powerful desire to find one’s place in the world. But this urge can be perilous if not mixed with a large dose of humility and respect for the wisdom of those who are older, who have successfully navigated the rapids of youth into adulthood, often with many scars for their own foolish decisions.
Peter’s next instructions are for both groups: everything must be done in humility and controlled by submission, first to God and to His will. Scripture is replete with cautionary tales of pride, hubris, and the disasters that it brings to those who allow themselves to be controlled by it. It always leads to failure, injury, even death. Instead, those who succeed, who are lifted up by God, are those who intentionally take the lowest seat at the banquet and who then allow God to elevate them to a higher place, a place of God’s choosing, which is often a higher place than that to which they aspired originally.
For those who follow these directives, who act in humility toward not only God, but to those above and below them in the hierarchy, they gain a priceless treasure: the ability to cast all their cares on God. This verse is often quoted out of context as if it is a promise to everyone unconditionally. But, as the context makes clear, it is only those who fulfill the roles God has assigned them, and who do so humbly and in complete reliance on Him, who can successfully allow God to carry the lion’s share of their burdens, making their yoke easier to bear.
Pray with Me
Father, it is very common for us to do that, to lift Your promises out of their context and claim them for ourselves, ignorant of the requirements You have clearly laid out for them to be fulfilled in us. In this case, humility toward both You and others is the requirement for casting our cares on You. And that makes sense, because if we try to do it all in our own supposed strength, proud of our plans and confident in our own ability to pull them off, we won’t even think of turning to You until we fail, and then it will be too late. Help me, Lord, to keep the wisdom of humility constantly before me as the way I both think and live. Amen.