Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against one another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.  Colossians 3:12-13 HCSB

When I fail to show compassion, kindness, and humility it is because of my pride. It is because I see someone mess up and think, “Well, I would never!” Never say never, my friend. When I fail to be gentle and patient with others who are going through a hard time, it’s usually because of pride. Now we know from Proverbs 8:13 that God hates pride. Through years of law enforcement, I was hardened, and I admit I often find people have gotten themselves into the mess they are in. Therefore, I feel this negates the need for me to be gentle and patient with them.

What if God had felt that way about me? I can look back to sometimes in my life where I made a big mess. I had only myself to blame. I had strayed from God and was not obeying Him or trusting in Him as I should. But He still loved me. Romans 5:8 tells us God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! It doesn’t say God agreed to help us if we would shape up. It doesn’t say God is standing there tapping his foot waiting for us to get our acts together. It says while we were a mess, He provided salvation for us. He provided a way out of sin and death. He had compassion for us. He had patience with us and was kind to us. Christ humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross for our sins. He didn’t wait for us to earn it or deserve it. He loved us unconditionally, even though we were sinners.

Can you sit here today and say you do the same for others? Can you say you forgive those that trespass against you and pray for them? Or have you forgotten what God has done for you?

Our scripture passage today tells us to have heartfelt compassion, be gentle, patient, kind and forgiving to one another. It doesn’t say we have to die on a cross for others. That’s what God did for me and for you. Are you willing to extend that love and compassion to others? That’s all He’s asking you to do. I can tell you from experience if you are having problems extending this to your enemies, if you have bitterness in your heart towards someone who has hurt you or someone you love, God can remove that. God can replace your bitterness with compassion. God can help you to be the kind of person He wants you to be. He’s not asking you to do this all on your own. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). Are you willing to let go and let God handle these things for you today? Are you willing to submit to Him and give Him all the pride, bitterness, and anger you have inside? Are you willing to allow Him to replace those things with humility, kindness, compassion and brotherly love?

How quickly we forget what God has done for us. It’s easy to live a life God has cleaned up for us and forget where we have come from. We don’t want to remember those dark and dreary days. We know God moves our sin far from us (Psalm 103:12), but we must not forget what He did for us. We must always be appreciative.

We show our appreciation by extending this same love and compassion to others. Think about it. Where would you be today were it not for God’s love. Don’t let foolish pride take you back there.

Have a great day!