Habits That Reach Others
“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.” - Galatians 5:22-23
After you have established the habits of your mind that we talked about yesterday, you can then begin to practice those habits that reach others. These are patience, kindness, and goodness. Much like we discussed yesterday, when you truly begin to produce these fruits, you can exercise them regardless of your circumstances. This will make your life so much better when you are no longer ruled by the situation you are in but instead by the God who has given you the power to choose these qualities time and time again.
Patience is a quality we all need. The reality is, we are not always going to get our way in life, and even less are we going to get everything we want, when we want it. Your patience is something that is likely tested every single day. Have you ever sat in traffic when you were running late? Have you ever had to clean up someone else’s mess before you were able to go where you pleased? These are just a couple of the many examples of ways you can express patience.
Kindness, its a quality most people are great at… when others are kind to them. But very few are kind when others do not show the same genuine spirit. God does not call us to be kind only when others do the same. He wants you to be kind at all times. When someone is rude to you, it is rarely clear what they are going through. Your kindness may be exactly what they needed, regardless of if they deserved it.
The third habit you can use to reach others is goodness. The verse above calls this generosity. This word is not just talking about financial generosity, though that is one way to show it. But instead, this is something that involves giving without any expectation. Most people in today’s world give while expecting something in return. It’s an “I’ll do this for you, if you do that for me” type of exchange. But to really be different, to be the person God wants you to be, try giving even when you know you will not receive anything in return. For that, you will receive a blessing far greater than anything someone else can give you.
After you have established the habits of your mind that we talked about yesterday, you can then begin to practice those habits that reach others. These are patience, kindness, and goodness. Much like we discussed yesterday, when you truly begin to produce these fruits, you can exercise them regardless of your circumstances. This will make your life so much better when you are no longer ruled by the situation you are in but instead by the God who has given you the power to choose these qualities time and time again.
Patience is a quality we all need. The reality is, we are not always going to get our way in life, and even less are we going to get everything we want, when we want it. Your patience is something that is likely tested every single day. Have you ever sat in traffic when you were running late? Have you ever had to clean up someone else’s mess before you were able to go where you pleased? These are just a couple of the many examples of ways you can express patience.
Kindness, its a quality most people are great at… when others are kind to them. But very few are kind when others do not show the same genuine spirit. God does not call us to be kind only when others do the same. He wants you to be kind at all times. When someone is rude to you, it is rarely clear what they are going through. Your kindness may be exactly what they needed, regardless of if they deserved it.
The third habit you can use to reach others is goodness. The verse above calls this generosity. This word is not just talking about financial generosity, though that is one way to show it. But instead, this is something that involves giving without any expectation. Most people in today’s world give while expecting something in return. It’s an “I’ll do this for you, if you do that for me” type of exchange. But to really be different, to be the person God wants you to be, try giving even when you know you will not receive anything in return. For that, you will receive a blessing far greater than anything someone else can give you.
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