Clothed With Humility

There is an old apocryphal story about the great boxer Mohammed Ali. Just before takeoff on an airplane flight, the stewardess reminded Ali to fasten his seatbelt. “Superman don’t need no seatbelt,” he replied. “Superman don’t need no airplane either,” retorted the stewardess. Ali fastened his belt. 

I love that. I love the way the stewardess replied with humor. She defused the tension and got the results.

Sometimes we all do let our pride get the best of us: 

When we always have to be right…
When we have to have the last word…
When it is my way or the highway…
When we won’t listen to those with whom we disagree…
When we won’t ask for help, even though we need it… 

The truth is, there is no such thing as Superman. None of us are invincible. We are not self-sufficient. We can’t make it on our own. We need other people, and we need God.

Peter was one of Jesus’ disciples who perhaps struggled the most with pride. Over the years he grew deeper and wiser. In his older age, he wrote, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble… Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” (1 Peter 5:5b-6).

Today, let us ask God to help us lay down our pride – so that our lives would have room to heal and grow. 

Let us pray: Today, O God, we surrender to you our pride. We don’t have to reflect extensively to realize that we can’t make it alone for very long in life. We need you. Move deeply in our lives this day. Heal us, renew us, and refresh us with your love and grace – we ask in all humility. Amen.