Love: The Greatest of AllНамуна

Love Is Patient and Kind

“Love is patient and kind . . .”

-1 Corinthians 13:4 NLT

We have spoken a lot about what love is not. Discussing what something is not first removes all the lies and misunderstandings and allows the truth to come in. God’s Word changes everything, and now we can focus on the truth of love.

Patience and Kindness

Love is patient. There is a reason that Paul put this first. Patience is one of the most challenging principles to apply because, many times, you don’t have control over how long you will be waiting. The only thing you can control is how you wait. You wait with kindness. Waiting without kindness is not patience. It’s only waiting. That is not the same as patience. Patience involves waiting, but it also includes how you wait.

Have you ever heard someone yelling, “Are you ready yet?” Or maybe you heard someone say, “What’s taking so long?” Maybe that someone was you or someone was asking you those things. Whoever is saying it is waiting and, to a certain extent, being patient because at least they are still waiting. However, those statements don’t exactly exude kindness.

Now, if someone were to come up to where you are and say, “Hey, are you ok? This is taking longer than I expected, so I wanted to verify that everything was ok.” That is a statement of patience and kindness. That comes from the heart.

You Can Make an Adjustment to Be Patient and Kind

Years ago, I was waiting for someone to go to dinner when I put this into practice. The event was announced months in advance and with plenty of prep time. However, when that night came, some things happened, and I had to wait for this person a lot longer than either of us had planned. I had a choice to make.

I am a person who is rarely late, so there was a part of me that was wondering what was going on. However, I knew I needed to be patient and kind, so I adjusted. I adjusted, not in my head, but in my heart. When I did that, my actions changed from waiting to exercising patience.

Today, make sure to be patient and kind when you are tempted to be impatient and rude. Walking in love is always the best option.

Confession Today

“Because love is patient and kind, I will be patient and kind. When tempted to act another way, I will make the adjustment in my heart to be patient and kind. I can do it because God has equipped me to do it. I am patient, and I am kind.”