1 Peter 5:5 – “…clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.” (NASB)
Everyone is scared of looking stupid in front of others. Someone was recently sharing how they were in a meeting with other executives listening to a consultant and they had no idea what the consultant was saying. He was looking around the room and everyone else was shaking their head in agreement as though they understood. Finally, this man said: ‘I’m sorry, I hate to slow down the meeting, but I don’t understand; can you explain this part over again?’ The funny thing is that after he had the courage to admit he didn’t understand, others admitted they didn’t understand either, though they had been playing along as though they did.
Our Scripture today reminds us that we’re called to continually clothe ourselves with humility. It takes courage to admit when we are struggling, to ask for help, to go ahead and risk looking like an idiot. However, we often find that when we become vulnerable and transparent, others will also share their struggles, offer to help, and/or grow in their trust of us.
There is no such thing as a self-made person. Out of the womb of our mothers, we are completely dependent on others nourishing and shaping us. The same is true of our spiritual birth. We come to God empty-handed; trusting in Jesus’ grace and mercy to atone for our sin and give us access to grace to begin getting our lives in order. If we remain humble and grow in our dependence on Jesus and the church, we find that we can grow to a place where we can help other infants grow up too. Risk being the idiot, and you will become wise.