How is your patience? How well do you bear with the faults of others? Are you willing to be gentle with others? Will you humble yourself? Are you willing to do all this in love for one another? Would you like others to be this way toward you?
I venture to guess that everyone would like to have others be patience with them, especially when learning something new. I suspect we all would like others to forgive our faults, especially when we are doing our best to overcome our shortcomings.
I would bet we all want others to be gentle and tactful when correcting our wrongful behavior. I imagine we all want to be loved and want that love demonstrated openly. Have you thought you might experience all this from others, if you first demonstrate all these things to others?
As I’ve observed people, I have seen and heard complaints about how everyone else is acting while they are 0acting in much the same manner. As my grandmother used to say, “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.” In other words, they are all doing the same thing and complaining about what each other are doing, yet not doing anything to correct themselves.
How do we even start making corrections? Our first step is to train ourselves to think of others before ourselves. When we want the last cupcake, we need to remind ourselves that someone else may want it and ask. When we are speeding down the road because we are running late, we need to ask ourselves if there is a possibility of someone pulling out in front of us. When we want to spank the kid in the store for yelling like a crazed maniac, we might ask ourselves if he is the child of a single mother who is tending to an infant.
We all desire others to be gentle, patient, and bear with us in love. Others desire we be gentle, patient, and bear with them in love. As we act better toward others, we build peace and unity. As we build unity, we can work together to combat the evil in this world.
I pray we all strive to be gentle, patient, and forbearing. I pray we strive for unity and peace. I pray each one of us will take the first step by thinking of others. Be humble. Be gentle. Be patient. Be forbearing. Do everything in love. Strive for unity. Strive for peace.
Ephesians 4:2-3 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Marty Pressey 