| The Ministry of Comfort |
Chapter 20 |
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A daily study of this one chapter, the thirteenth of First Corinthians, with hearty and earnest effort to get is teaching into the heart and then to live them out in all life’s relations would ultimately change the faultiest manners into the beauty and gracefulness which belong to all true Christian life.
Some persons are greatly hindered in the cultivation of politeness by their shyness. A great deal of rudeness is unintended; indeed, it is altogether unconscious. All that is needed to cure it is thoughtfulness. But we have no right to be thoughtless. Want of thought is only a little less blameworthy than want of heart. A man says, when he learns that some word or act of his gave great pain, “I didn’t know that my friend was so sensitive at that point.” If he had been more thoughtful he would have known, or at least he would not have spoken the word nor done the thing which hurt so. We never know what burden our neighbour is carrying, how tender his heart is. If we knew, we would be more careful.
In seeking to have our manners thoroughly Christian we need to bring every phase and every expression of our life under the sway of the love of Christ. It is easy enough to be gentle to some men, for they are so kindly in their spirit, so patient, so thoughtful, and so generous, that they never in any way try us. But there are others to whom it is hard to be gentle, for they are continually doing or saying things which would naturally irritate us and excite us to unloving and unlovely treatment of them. But our manners should be unaffected by anything in others. It was thus with our Master. His moods were not dependent on the influence which played upon Him. Rudeness to Him in others did not make Him rude to them. Wrong and injustice did not dry up the fountain of love in His heart. He was as gracious and sweet in spirit and manner to the discourteous and the unkind as if they had shown Him the most refined courtesy. If we have the mind that was in Christ Jesus, we, too, will be unaffected by the atmosphere about us. Love beareth all things, endureth all things, and never faileth.
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