Ok so my husband and I are trying to practice the fruits of the spirit.
For those unfamiliar with the fruits:
[h=3]Galatians 5:22-23[/h]King James Version (KJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Anyone who has honestly tried to do this can honestly say: This is HARD!!!
My neighbor is petty and spiteful, even when there is no reason to be. solution: smile and say a prayer for him as I sweep the dirt he has generously swept onto the door mat in front of the door. Contentedly read the Bible out loud to the family while he curses through the walls and pray for his salvation.
One of my friends is very lazy. Solution: instead of giving in to the urge to tell her to get a job "you lazy bum" and explaining to her that the working class Americans don't owe her a cent, pray for her salvation and that God gives her the realization soon.
My father-in-law and mother-in-law are pompous and insufferable. Solution: pray that I can have the faith and strength to forgive them, even when they hurt and use my family and hope gifts will cover up the fact that they are in the wrong. Pray also that I can let go of my pride enough to forgive them and be Christ-like to them when it comes time.
You can see the conundrum that so many of us face when we try to force ourselves to ask ourselves "What would Jesus do?" and then act out the honest answer.
For those unfamiliar with the fruits:
[h=3]Galatians 5:22-23[/h]King James Version (KJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Anyone who has honestly tried to do this can honestly say: This is HARD!!!
My neighbor is petty and spiteful, even when there is no reason to be. solution: smile and say a prayer for him as I sweep the dirt he has generously swept onto the door mat in front of the door. Contentedly read the Bible out loud to the family while he curses through the walls and pray for his salvation.
One of my friends is very lazy. Solution: instead of giving in to the urge to tell her to get a job "you lazy bum" and explaining to her that the working class Americans don't owe her a cent, pray for her salvation and that God gives her the realization soon.
My father-in-law and mother-in-law are pompous and insufferable. Solution: pray that I can have the faith and strength to forgive them, even when they hurt and use my family and hope gifts will cover up the fact that they are in the wrong. Pray also that I can let go of my pride enough to forgive them and be Christ-like to them when it comes time.
You can see the conundrum that so many of us face when we try to force ourselves to ask ourselves "What would Jesus do?" and then act out the honest answer.
