from your heart? The concept of selflessness
paints a portrait that says, “Whatever I can
do, I will do. Whatever I can give, I will give.”
Selflessness is putting others before yourself, and God before everyone. It may not always be the easiest thing to do, but displaying selflessness says more about a persons
heart than any words they speak. All that we
have is never really ours to begin with as it all
belongs to God.
7. DEPENDABLE
Matthew 5:37, “Let what you say be simply
‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes
from evil”. Or, as we might say today, “Keep
your word.”
When Christ-followers say they will do
something, they should make sure and follow through with it. “In the ways of Christ, we
must show the world we can be trusted, and
that our word will not be broken” (Wilson).
8. RESPECT
1 Peter 2:17: “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor”.
It is a given that we will come across people
with views that are different from our own.
However, that doesn’t mean we can’t still be
respectful in our discussions and debates in
our areas of disagreement. At the same time
we shouldn’t take differing theological perspectives as attacks on our person. We have
too many thin-skinned believers trying to
take part in “iron sharpens iron” discussions.
It would be wise, and much less stressful,
not to enter these types of discussions if one
gets hurt too easily.
One place that disrespect runs rampant is
in today’s media coverage. You’ve heard the
saying, “Christians are the best at shooting
their own wounded?” Well, it’s true. You have
the media highlighting stories of disrespect
toward Christians from Christians. We read
the headlines and claim, “I would never do
that” or “I would never say that” before we
even know if the story being shared is true.
We should be known as a group of respectful people who, even in disagreement, can
accept and give criticism while showing love
and grace.
I’m sure you’ve heard it said that “respect
is earned,” and there is much truth to this.
However, as believers, why not go in with the
intention of showing respect from the very
beginning until we are given a legitimate
reason to believe one to be disrespectful?
When and if this occurs then we can re-evaluate and wait for them to earn that respect.
But we can do this without being disrespectful ourselves.`
Love
Grace
Purity
Patience
Sacrifice
Selflessness
Dependable
Respect
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