(1 Peter 5:5-6) God opposes the proud but shows grace to the humble. Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand; he will lift you up at the right time.

The Bible repeatedly contrasts the proud and the humble, both refer to the condition of the heart. 

Those full of pride refuse to submit to the moral rule of God. They insist on their own absolute autonomy. They harden their hearts. They promote themselves. They overflow with the lust to be seen and recognized as special, take a look at Hollywood. 

While the humble willingly soften their hearts, and align their lives under God’s authority (hand). Today, pride is seen as strength, while humility is seen as weakness. Actually, the opposite is true. The proud are internally weak, while the humble are internally strong. 

More importantly, as this verse emphasizes, God opposes, resists, and fights against the proud, and outpours his grace on the humble. Because of our fallen nature, one of the primary temptations we have in life is the desire to promote ourselves. We want to exalt ourselves. We manipulate circumstances so we can be noticed and praised. 

Unfortunately, it is often only after we experience the pain and dead-end of prideful autonomy that we finally bow our knee and surrender to God. It is important to emphasize that Christian humility is not a one time act, it is a lifestyle before God and others. 

This verse contains a life-changing promise. When we refuse to exalt ourselves and choose to humble ourselves under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, then God will graciously raise us up (exalt us) in his perfect timing. 

This is a God thing. I do not want you to think that humility is simply accomplished in human effort. When we soften our hearts in humility before God, this is when the Holy Spirit takes over.