Discretion, Patience and Restraint Bring Honor – (Proverbs 19:11)

Daily Bible Study
God's mercy and grace have been given to us through Christ Jesus our Lord and His suffering and death on the Cross of Calvary. Therefore, we are to extend grace to others and to show more kindness, love and concern for others, than we show for ourselves. As we grow in grace and the study of God's word, we grow in real wisdom and understanding that can only come from God. Part of God's wisdom is to understand that patience and restraint can be virtuous and are appropriate at times. Moreover, it can make pathways and open communication where none was possible before. In addition, when we practice grace it helps us to better see that our sin nature can cause us to be impatient, self-centered and hostile to others when really the problem is not others, but our own selfish nature. We have to be aware that when we show anger or rage at every small transgression or perceived wrong, what we're really showing God and those around us, is a heart focused solely on self and not on the Lord, and certainly not on others. Showing the love of Jesus to the world around us is part of what it means to be a follower of Christ.

This means as Christians, as those who claim to follow Jesus, we have to ask ourselves does our behavior toward others display a heart focused on ego, pride, greed and envy or a heart focused on showing the love of Jesus to the world around us. Furthermore, the Bible confirms for us that looking past a minor transgression brings honor to those we deal with. It brings kindness and grace that heals relationships and opens up communication between ourselves and those around us. And most importantly, it shows the love of Jesus to those who witness our relationships with others, thereby shining the light of the Gospel through our actions and our love for the people around us. We have to remember that when we claim to be followers of Jesus, that means we are representatives of Jesus to the rest of the world. How well people accept the Gospel message from us, in a large part depends on how well we live it out in our day to day lives. And the ability to do that depends on our love for Christ, our knowledge of God's word, our time in prayer and our obedience to the guidance of the Holy Spirit every day. These necessary things which are love, study, prayer and submission to the Holy Spirit are vitally necessary if we are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. Moreover, these things are required in order for God to carry out His process of spiritual growth called "sanctification," in our hearts and in our lives.