Evidence Of The SpiritSample

Forbearance

What a blessing it is to live so deep into the 21st century! The internet, search engines, apps, and the cloud all make it possible to retrieve, organize, and store boundless bundles of information. Copper lines are nice but not needed—everything’s going wireless. And the data is not just text—images and videos fly around the world in a second or two.

What a curse it is to live so deep into the 21st century! You can get all the information you want really, really fast. Through a myriad of online shopping portals you can get any goods you want really, really fast, and somebody will deliver the stuff anywhere you want. The curse is that we have all become really, really impatient. Nobody wants to wait for anything!

People develop slowly. You did. Somebody was patient with you, giving you the space to work out your skills and personality. Being willing to wait for people is learned behavior—guess where it comes from? Yep—“The fruit of the Spirit is . . . forbearance” (Galatians 5:22), which is another word for patience. The Spirit has been working on me a long time—I am such a work in progress. How dare I get snippy and judgmental because somebody else isn’t up to my standards?

Shock somebody today with your patience. Be three times as likely to praise as to criticize. Look for signs of progress in people and you will find them. Find more joy in clapping and cheering for other people than in preening for attention for yourself.