A Message for the New Year
On Sunday I discussed seven steps that if we stay focused on them can change our lives and provide for a year filled with blessings and great joy. Here they are.
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. (Colossians 3:12-14)
I wish to show/incorporate these into my daily life as I deal with people:
1) Compassion (empathy): The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.
2) Kindness (direct action): The quality or state of being kind.
Kind (adjective) — Having or showing a gentle nature and a desire to help others; wanting and liking to do good things and to bring happiness to others.
3) Humility (i.e., it’s not about you): The quality or state of not thinking you’re better than other people.
Humble — Not proud; not thinking of yourself as better than other people; given or said in a way that shows you do not think you are better than other people; showing that you do not think of yourself as better than other people.
4) Gentleness/meekness/quiet strength: The quality or state of being gentle.
Gentle — Having or showing a kind and quiet nature; not harsh or violent; not hard or forceful; not strong or harsh in effect or quality.
5) Patience/bear with one another: The capacity, habit, or fact of being patient.
Patient — Able to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time or when dealing with problems or difficult people; done in a careful way over a long period of time without hurrying.
6) Forgiveness (yes, it means letting go): The act of forgiving someone or something.
Forgive — To stop feeling anger toward (someone who has done something wrong); to stop blaming (someone); to stop feeling anger about (something): to forgive someone for (something wrong); to stop requiring payment of (money that is owed).
7) Love (agape, unconditional): A feeling of strong or constant affection for a person.