But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV).
I stood in the grocery store aisle this afternoon and watched a pair of women fighting over the last can of pumpkin pie filling. Ironic, perhaps, that the can in question was part of a display labeled Thanksgiving. Yep. We are entering that time of year when crazy happens.
Speaking of “cans,” here is my holiday can-do list:
People will be unkind … for no reason.
Love them.
People will grumble and complain about things that aren’t a big deal.
Exhibit joy.
People will backstab.
Pursue peace.
People will make mistakes … lots of them.
Be patient.
People will say things, do things, believe things … illogically.
Be kind.
People will do whatever it takes to climb the ladder–regardless of ethics or conscience.
Do them good.
People will break promises (even ones that really matter).
Be faithful.
People will say really harsh things.
Be gentle.
People will place innocent individuals in harm’s way so that they can pursue themselves.
Use self-control.
The reason is simple: against such things there is no law.
No one has ever offended me as much as I have offended God. And HE has forgiven me of it all.
Photo by AmandaRaeK
I’ve always felt that the true test of our faith is not as much as how we behave toward others, but how we react when we are the target of bad behavior. “Do unto others” only covers half of Christian walk. “Forgive because God has forgiven you” is the part we tend to overlook most often.