Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Commonly, in movies and TV, the haughty and prideful character is taken down and the humble and lowly are lifted up; see Cinderella. In the gospels, Jesus says So the last will be first, and the first last. Peter, in this letter to the churches that were enjoying good times at the present, warns that anxieties are coming and you will need the Lord so get humble now. The respect level for the elders seemed to be receding as the young thought they had it figured out. Peter’s message was that it was a recipe for disaster. He could have said, “Take a tip from one who learned the hard way.” You do not want to make decisions on your own. You need Jesus.
For centuries, old people have been saying “kids nowadays”. But kids nowadays have really got the notion that their forebears have destroyed everything and it is up to them to fix everything. Again, that is a recipe for disaster as they will make every mistake we did because they will not consult us or the Lord. We all need Jesus. That humility will get us ready for the time when we need him most; times of anxiety and stress. We can cast our burdens upon the Lord and he will sustain us. The gospel humbles us and makes our lives…
A Cinderella story.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church