Pride

Humility Makes Allowances

How tolerant are you?

Verse of the Day

‘Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.’

Ephesians 4:2

Today’s Devotional

I was on a four hour flight with my husband recently.  A completely full flight.  And there were two different families with small children, one set a couple rows in front of us, the other set several rows behind.  It was probably the noisiest flight I have ever been on.  Both of these sets of children were very noisy and upset for the duration of the flight.  They cried and screamed and squawked for the entire flight.  

I became pretty irritated.  Couldn’t these parents control their children?  I allowed these unruly kids to get under my skin and I got a little crabby.  

When we were at baggage claim, and one of the families was still right next to us with children running amok, I said to my husband, “I wonder how God handles irritation.”

And this verse came to my mind.

I can only imagine how irritating we humans must be to God.  And yet He responds with love and grace.  When I look at Jesus, I see Him patiently enduring and redirecting the men who were with Him.

In Mark 9, we see an example of this.  “’After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”” (Mark 9:33-35)

Jesus would have had every right to stop the disciples in the middle of their argument and say, “Seriously guys?  Do you not get it?  Do you not see the servant nature of this life I have called you to? When will you ever learn?!?” But Jesus did not do that.  He made allowances for their faults.  He sat down and gathered them around him and explained humility.  Then later He showed them again by washing their feet, the job of a lowly servant.

Humility calls us to make allowance for each other’s faults.  The assumption here is that we all have faults and we can all be irritating to others.  And yet we are called to swallow the irritation and respond with love and grace.

This is no easy task.  And we will not always get it right.  

Humility call us to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.  Humility calls us to be gentle and patient.  Humility reminds us of our love, poured out from the Father into us, which we can then extend to others.

Journal Prompts

Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.

How do you generally respond to the faults of others?

How do you respond to the example that Jesus has set for us?

Think of a specific person in your life that sparks irritation and write out what it would look like to make allowances for this person’s faults.

How does God handle your faults?

How do you handle your own faults?

How do patience and gentleness affect your humility?

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