| Sermon Thought by PKD Lee |
1 Peter 5:5 - … be clothed with humility
Addressing the leadership in the church, Peter asks them to be clothed with humility. This is because without humility, we cannot serve people as leaders or servants.
We are called to serve people both inside the kingdom of God and outside. This command was given by Jesus himself in different teachings like the parable of the goats and sheep in Matthew 25:31ff. But can we truly serve people if we do not have humility?
When we do not have humility, the very act of service becomes a source of pride and identity. Why is humility such a difficult trait to develop? If I want to live up to Jesus’ calling, I need to seek to perfect my humility.
Humility is closely linked to identity. As long as I am seeking an identity for myself, I cannot have humility. Humility becomes my nature when I have ceased to pursue an identity for myself or to create an identity for myself.
But when every act of mine adds to my identity, how can I stop creating an identity for myself? The only answer I have is that if my identity is that of being Jesus’ servant or slave, then I do not work to build my identity, but live with that identity. The surrender of my life to Jesus means that I have opted to be His slave and need no other identity apart from that. I do not speak of my achievements, my degrees, my qualifications apart from being a servant of Jesus.
Once I have buried all other identities of mine, I am free to live for Jesus and His kingdom. Free to be a servant to all people I deal with.