1Peter 5:5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

My purse is so heavy I’m constantly looking for ways to lighten my load. If I had the opportunity to ditch it completely and opt instead to employ servants to be at my beck and call, I would! Obviously that silly thought is merely wishful thinking for most of us, but not for monarchs! 

Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch, died last year at the age of 96. She piqued the interest of people around the world for decades, no doubt gathering more “followers” with each passing year. There’s probably not a fan of the queen on the planet who doesn’t know about her signature handbag!

The queen was rarely, if ever, seen without a purse. Apparently she carried one both indoors and out! I kind of get it, except for the fact that she had servants everywhere whom she could call upon to go and fetch anything she suddenly wanted or needed. So why carry a purse? For that matter, if she insisted on a purse, why didn’t she just hand it off to one of her ladies-in-waiting to lug around for her? (Can you tell just how heavy my purse is? 😊) I’m sure if the queen was asked she may have answered my questions, but just the fact that you never saw her without a handbag meant that, for her, a purse was essential. She would never have dreamed of leaving her private quarters in Buckingham Palace without one. Clearly not until her bag was dangling from her arm did she consider herself to be fully dressed.

When I read 1 Peter 5:5, I sense that Peter was exhorting us Christians to treat humility as essential as Queen Elizabeth’s handbag! So essential, that if we were to go without it we would at some point in our day panic, realizing we were “unclothed”, much like in those dreams where you arrive somewhere not fully dressed. (For me those dreams always came the night before the first day of a new school year. I would arrive at the school where I taught realizing I was not quite dressed!)

I think Peter would love it if he knew that his instruction to clothe ourselves with humility was something that Christians down through the centuries have practiced. More than that, I know that our Lord would be pleased! Unfortunately, I don’t believe that has happened, especially if I’m any example. Although I’m sure I must have heard a sermon a time or two about being humble, I’d be lying if I told you the message changed my trajectory in life, or even that I remember it. And I’m certain that, having been someone who reads scripture daily, over the years I’ve come across plenty of verses that advocate for humility. Yet again, for far too many years, their application typically began with, “Boy, do I know someone…!” 

I lived most of my life without giving humility much thought. (After all, I’m already such a nice person!) That changed several years ago when circumstances in my life caused me to take a look at my heart and acknowledge that though I was good at acting nice, my actions didn’t always stem from a giving heart, kind thoughts, or a humble mindset. I typically just resigned myself to “doing the right thing”. God began to show me that He wanted to develop a genuine servant’s heart in me. That was 7 years ago, and I’m still on this journey. Along the way I have learned that the essential ingredient for a servant’s heart is humility. More than that, I have observed time and again how conflict could resolve if someone would just finish getting dressed, and clothe themselves with humility! 

Heavenly Father, first of all thank You for beginning the process of sculpting my heart into that of a servant. Thank you for allowing me to begin to see how different life would be…how different our world would be…if humility was deemed essential clothing for each of us. I can’t change anyone else’s heart, but I CAN allow You to change mine, and I invite You to do that. One thing I’m sure of, Your grace is for those who will humble themselves. I need Your grace. Holy Spirit, be my teacher. Teach me, daily, to clothe myself with humility. I know that is a request You will love to answer because Your word says, “The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit – O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject.” (Psalm 51:17) Thank You again for leading me on this journey. Amen