Humble Burdens

How often do you get in fights? Are you often the instigator? Maybe you just find yourself in a fight due to no fault of your own? (I’m sure that’s most of us, right?) But fights and conflict are a normal part of life. Even a simple conflict to decide where to eat out can be a fight, even if it’s resolved quickly. But, often, fights escalate and become more than simple disagreements when fear and pride get in the way.
My 3-year-old daughter has told me recently (and often), “I don’t want to.” And it’s on a variety of topics. From getting dressed, to going to school, to eating her food. And I’m sure my other kids were just as defiant, but for some reason this only girl and baby of our family pushes more of my buttons when she fights. And if I was a weaker man I would probably give in to her every time (whereas now I only give in most of the time!) One morning I was running back and forth from the house to the church (a quick 2-3 minute task) and she really wanted to come with me each time. However, I told her she needed proper attire to come with me (including getting out of PJs and wearing a coat). When she told me “I don’t want to,” I proceeded to leave and could hear her crying halfway across the street.
And my first thought is she just needs to learn obedience, but really what I think she needs to learn is humility. And in many ways they are tied together, right? We obey when we’re humble. We listen and accept others thoughts because we don’t put ourselves first. But, also, we let go of our anxiety when we are humble. And that’s what Peter tells us in his first letter, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)
In that verse we often look at the ‘casting all our anxieties on him’ but gloss over the ‘humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand.’ But they are intricately tied together. And that’s true for day-to-day worries and anxieties but it’s also true for disagreements and conflicts, too. If we put aside our pride and our own desires and put our faith more fully in God, anxiety often disperses with it. As we are humble, we can more and more trust that God can carry our burdens and we live less anxious lives.
I pray we find ways to trust that God will take care of our lives and in the midst of our conflicts, I pray we set aside our own pride and alleviate some of our worry. God bless.