Jefferson Baptist Church has a service on Wednesday night at 6:30 pm and I am preaching on various character traits each Wednesday. This Wednesday I am teaching on the topic of Patience. I would guess that most would believe that they could do with more patience. In 1st Corintians 13 love is described in detail. The very first word that the Bible uses to describe love is patience.

Patience is a way of acting, but more than that it is an attitude of acceptance of others who are at various levels of maturity in their character growth. It is recognizing that everybody is at different places in their growth toward being like Christ, and doesn’t expect them to act perfect at the level they are at. Those with patience also know that not everyone grows at the same rate, there are lots of factors that produce growth in us all.

When most people in a church are patient it creates an environment that allows for great growth in all who are in that church. It is the same for families that are marked by patience. There exists in those Churches and families an atmosphere of freedom and security that takes away the fear of failing and automatically encourages all in the church or family to take greater risks in attempting to accomplish great things with their life resulting in greater maturity.,

Impatient people fail to remember when they were a baby in character growth and maturity and that many were patient with them. Impatient people forget that their growth was the result of God working in their life along with many other people. Those lacking in patience are acting out of personal pride in who they are as if they are a self-made person.

Those with patience will have the most influence in the lives of others in helping and encouraging them to pursue personal character growth. God will see to that. Those with patience aren’t critical or judgmental, they don’t get irritated at what others say and do, they don’t gossip or slander others, and they are often thinking of words they can say and things they can do to encourage and help those in their life to grow.