1 Peter 5:5 – Submissive – 10.28.11

“Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older.  Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”

This passage has a deeper meaning to me now that I’m a parent.  We do our very best to make sure Levi and Wren are submissive to us as their parents.  Not because we are power hungry (at least not all the time), but because submitting to us is for their good.  There are a couple of reasons for that. 

One, we know better than they do and we make much better decisions than they are capable of making.  Sorry buddy, you can’t eat gold fish, watch the Backyardigans, and hit your sister with a stick all day. 

Two, the bible says that children should honor their father and mother – it’s right there in the 10 Commandments.  We want our children to obey God’s word, and one of their first opportunities is to honor us. 

And third, by learning to be submissive to their parents, we hope that Levi and Wren will learn to be submissive to God.  If you can’t submit to your parents, how will you submit to God?  That is our reasoning at least…

Peter instructs the young men to submit to their elders for much the same reasons.  Young men are not typically known for their humility, so Peter tells them, “Hey, submit to your elders!”  Elders typically know better, have more wisdom, and perspective than young men (or women), so the youngsters should submit to them as a demonstration of humility and obedience.  Which is the posture we should assume when dealing with God.

A brief aside: The Greek word Peter used for humility is very interesting; it is only used in the Bible this one time.  The root verb of this word means “a slave’s apron”, which describes the garment slaves would wrap around themselves to serve.  By using this word, perhaps Peter is alluding to Jesus’ act of servant hood when he wrapped a towel around Himself and washed the disciples’ feet.  As our master clothed himself in humility, we should do the same.

The quote in this passage, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble,” is from Proverbs 3:34 and is echoed all over the scripture.  If we are not humble before God – who created the heavens and earth, who knit us together in our mother’s womb, who loves us and provides every good gift for us – we claim responsibility for what God has given us…which is a lie induced by pride.  And in pride, we take God’s glory for ourselves. 

So young men and women, be submissive to your elders (and elders, be worthy of the respect shown to you).  Not because they necessarily know better than you - though they often do - but because God commands us to.  And by submitting to them, we practice submitting to God.  And when we submit to God, good things happen.  And you can probably figure out what happens when we don’t submit to God…

“Submit yourselves to God…” – James 4:7