Kind Thoughts

Last week we saw that the standard of love that we are to have for God is higher than that which we are to have for ourselves and each other. Last week’s verse taught us that we are to love God on every level, spiritual, emotional and physical (passion, energy, thoughts, prayer and intelligence). We need to love God enough to put Him first and foremost above ourselves.

We know that God is a Person. He is a He and not an it. He is a Person. I think it is important we remember that. I think sometimes it is easier to see where we drop the ball with other people when we are mean or rude than it is to see where we are dropping the ball with God. He is a Person. He has emotions just like us and we need to be mindful of that. Of course, God does not let His emotions run Him or get in the way of Him being God. He is more in control of His emotions than we can ever be but that doesn’t mean His heart doesn’t break.

1 Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud…” In the Passion Translation it puts it this way, “Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance.”

1 Corinthians 13 was written to the Corinthians by the Apostle Paul and he teaches them how to love each other and how they ought to treat each other. We already know how important it is to love each other from Matthew 22. So looking at the model we have for loving each other in Corinthians, we can derive from it the things we can evaluate in our love towards God.

Our verse says love is patient and kind. Is our love towards God patient and kind? Remember we are talking about our actions, thoughts, attitudes, our whole being. In all that we are, are we being patient and kind towards God?

What is our approach to spending time with God? Do we want to just get in and out? Read your bible for 5 minutes, give God your shopping list, call it a prayer and then move on with the rest of the day? Are we being patient enough to know that prayer is a dialogue? As much as we love talking, we need to make time to listen. Are we mindful that God longs for us to sit with Him and spend time with Him and that He is waiting for us to come to Him but as quickly as we sit down, we get up again to leave? Are we always in a rush? These are just questions. I know I am in a rush sometimes, we all do it but there is room to grow. That’s the point. We all have room to grow.

When God is not saying anything, are we patient enough to wait on Him or do we go ahead without Him? When we are upset with God are we kind towards Him? See kindness is not just in the words we speak, it is in our thoughts too. Not your actions or thoughts to the people you ministered to today or smiled at on the street. Deep in your heart where no one can see, are your thoughts toward God kind and full of love? Remember we are to love God with our thoughts too. When you do not get the answers you want to your prayers are you still kind towards God and patient to listen to hear where He is and what His plan is?

Are there areas that when God brings them up, we brush Him off quickly because we don’t want to deal with it? We know not to brush people off or ignore them because it is rude. Whatever standard we have for loving people, we need to raise it for God. He is God.

I pray that as we spend time with God this week, He begins to show us where we have been impatient with Him or unkind so we can adjust ourselves and learn to love God in those areas.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.