Be patient with all

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. - 1 Thessalonians 5v14

Patience has never been my strongpoint, especially when it comes to people. In this nice little concise list we have a couple of key lessons in how to deal with people. It would be much easier if we could just lump all into one group and deal with them there. Sometimes we get the idea that we can do that. Leaders can forget that people are individuals and not just a group.

Some people are unruly. We need to warn them where their actions are leading. Some who are fainthearted and hurting – comfort them. Some are spiritually weak and struggling. Prop them up, be there for them, and even carry them along if need be.

I want to focus on the end of the verse, for that is where my lesson is. As we do those things we need to remember the phrase, ‘be patient with all.’ Far too often we see someone messing up, weak, or fainthearted and we just want to say, snap out of it! Once we have it ‘figured out’ we think everyone else should figure it out as well.

God reminds us two little words – be patient. How patient? How about remembering how patient God has been with us for a starting point?