Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:12
What comes from a person is determined by what is in that person’s heart. When someone has a rebellion against God in his heart, what comes out of him is sin, such as immoral conduct, lies, selfishness, and idolatry. When there is a desire in us to follow and please God, our fruit is the one described in verse 12: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
As seen in a previous study on Ephesians 2. We do not have salvation through our works. Salvation is a gift from God. But, true faith, brings a change in us. The effect of this change can be seen in the way we act and react to life’s situations.
Let us now consider one by one the qualities Paul lists and their opposites. The opposite of compassion is indifference. Indifference is caused by selfishness. Selfishness is thinking only of oneself, and seeking only advantages for oneself. This is part of the spirit of the world. Who wants to convince us to put our ego before everything, and us at the center of everything. The object of our worship, of our thoughts, and of our whole life, in doing so, becomes our ego.
The opposite of kindness is cruelty, malice, or malevolence. This leads us to treat others badly or to deceive them in order to benefit ourselves. This is also part of the spirit of the world, which tells us that the important thing is to achieve our goals, no matter what means we use.
The opposite of humility is pride. Humility ensures that it is not we who are exalted, but God, who uses us through our works, according to his will. Pride, on the other hand, is the pursuit of glory for oneself. When a person is proud, he is unable to learn from his mistakes. Proud people sometimes even think they are infallible and always right. The movement called pride deceives its adherents today, saying they should be proud of their sin. In other words, the proud not only do not see their mistakes but also boast about them.
The opposite of gentleness is aggression and violence. An aggressive person does not respect others. Aggression and violence are due to a lack of self-control. The world tells us that we must prevail over others, by hook or by crook. Evolution wants us to believe that it is the strongest individual who, with his own strength, prevails over the others and survives.
The opposite of patience is impatience. The impatient person, can’t wait and wants everything right away. The world today makes us believe that we can have anything we want, quickly and with our own strength. It makes us believe that appearance, that is what others think of us, is the most important thing.
Many people, due to impatience, find themselves in debt today. Banks grant loans very easily, but the amount to be repaid is much greater than the loaned one. For this reason, those who cannot wait, putting money aside, find themselves imprisoned in debt, and are no longer able to pay the bills.
Qualities of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience are God’s qualities. Jesus has always been kind also with his enemies the Pharisees. He is humble, in fact, despite his power, he came to serve us and not to be served. Jesus was called the Lamb of God because of his meekness. He went to the cross, he was beaten, and he suffered for us, without even opening his mouth to cry out.
If we seek God’s qualities for our life, we perfect ourselves. In fact, God is perfect, and as a Perfect Being, he expresses these qualities in a perfect way. We can instead think of the opposite of these qualities as a lack of them.
Indifference is the inability to put yourself in the shoes of others. Cruelty is the inability to love others. Pride is the inability to learn from one’s mistakes. Aggression is a lack of self-control. Impatience is the inability to wait.
Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience express strength. Indifference, cruelty, pride, and violence express weakness.
Those who have compassion often help those in need. Not only does this automatically lead to an improvement in the relationship with others. But, it also causes God, seeing our compassion, to bless us beyond our expectations. Personally, in my own experience, I am witness to the above-mentioned.
Those who are kind to others are not always reciprocated, but the sure thing is that you always get the best from others. Any leader knows this secret. Kindness comes from knowing that each person is made in God’s image. Therefore, as God loves us, we want to love others. Kindness comes from valuing each person in their uniqueness and trying to see them as God sees them.
When I have applied this principle in my life, I have experienced a great improvement.
The humble person learns from his mistakes, and this leads him to learn the lessons of life very quickly. Our humility comes from the fact that we know that all glory must be given to God. Without God we are nothing, our ways are imperfect and limited. Our strength is God. The Holy Spirit is our guide. Salvation is a gift God gives us, thanks to Jesus. Our very life depends on God. No one is better than anyone else in God’s eyes. God has a plan for everyone in our lives. But not everyone wants to obey God. This is the real difference.
When I let go of my pride to follow Jesus and offer my life and work to him, I found the meaning of my life. Everything you do, be for the glory of God. We don’t all have to be pastors or missionaries, but we all have opportunities, in work and in life, to make a difference and bring the gospel and salvation to those in need.
Avoiding aggression is not only a quality that brings us closer to God, but is part of a person’s basic education. Sometimes we are tempted to react aggressively out of anger. In this case, self-control helps us. We always ask the Holy Spirit for self-control. The Bible says God is slow to anger, so we want to be.
I have personally learned to control anger, even in the most difficult moments, especially in my family life. The Bible teaches us that we can control our thoughts, and, respond to negative ones, with the word of God. I recently published a post about hiding the word of God in our hearts.
Anyone who knows how to wait for God’s time shows great faith. This is one of the more difficult qualities to acquire. God answers our prayers in his time, and in abundance. If you don’t wait for God’s time, and try to solve situations on your own, you will create problems, which you could have avoided, only by being patient and persevering in prayers. A famous example is that of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who sent a maidservant to conceive a child with her husband. God had promised Sara a son, but she didn’t want to wait. The result is that the seed of Ishmael, the son of the maidservant, has become the greatest enemy of the nation of Israel.
Verse 12 reminds us that we have been chosen by God, and we are greatly loved by him. Why should we look for these qualities? Because God loves us, has chosen us, and wants to use us as an example for those who have not yet been saved. Jesus said, that we are the light of the world. Our love for God and for our neighbor must drive us to seek perfection so that God’s work can be accomplished throughout our lives. This is what gives meaning to our earthly life.