“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3)
You don’t always have to insist on being right.
Sometimes, it is wiser to be humble, gentle, patient, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There are times truth absolutely matters. When it comes to the essentials of the faith – Jesus is Lord, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, the Bible is the absolute authority, etc., – truth absolutely matters.
But when it comes to pretty much everything else, what matters more in relationships is a spirit of humility and gentleness, patience, and a willingness to bear with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit of the bond of peace.
It is exhausting to be with someone who insists on being right and someone who wants to make sure that everyone else knows that they are right all the time.
- Such an attitude and spirit destroys relationships, community, and fellowship
- Such an attitude and spirit makes a mockery of Christ because it goes against the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
So Christians, please be kind, humble, loving, peaceful, joyful, and gentle with the people around you. Everyone you come eye-ball to eye-ball with today is someone for whom God could not imagine eternity without. So everyone you encounter today is someone for whom God sent his Son to die so that they may live eternally.
So as the Apostle Paul says, “I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Praxis: Faith in Action 