Be Patient With Everyone
There's one more thing that Paul says in the same verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:14. After saying, “Help the weak”, he says this: “Be patient with everyone.”
I wonder if you need to hear this today. Have people been frustrating you? Have you been irritated by the way people have been doing things? Have you been impatient, frustrated, willing that God just give somebody a bit of a shake up?
Paul's Wisdom: Balancing Patience and Accountability
Be patient with everyone Paul says. And I believe he said that for a reason. I imagine the Thessalonians were also impatient with each other at times. And Paul says, “If you want to do good, be patient with everybody. Give people a chance.”
There are times, I must say, when we have to be tough with people. We don't want to enable people to just be slack and not do what they're supposed to do. Remember that. But first, try to be patient! Ask the Holy Spirit for his filling to make you patient. And even if you do have to confront someone, do it with tenderness and gentleness.
The Sweet Rewards of Patience and Grace
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Once said, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” I love that. Patience is hard. It's not very pleasant to be patient, but its fruit is sweet. If you'll be patient, you will be rewarded for that patience.
Let's strive to do good today by not being snippy, by not getting in people's faces, but by affording them grace and patience, even if we are confronting.
Stop often today and ask God to grant you patience so that you may graciously live like Jesus did - the most patient one of all.
