Patience and kindness

1 Corinthians 13:4 "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud."

JP always mentions the importance of "firsts" or what is mentioned first in Scripture should be given special attention because it is first.  So...the question is.....why is patience and kindness given first place in the definition of love?

Patience is defined as:  the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset.

Kindness is defined as: the quality of being friendly, generous or considerate OR
as in the Urban Dictionary....the act of going out of your way to be nice to 
someone or show a person you care.

Upon further research, I found that when looking for patience in other Scripture passages, the concept of perseverance and endurance were close companions. One then can make the connection that patience, is not about just the "capacity to accept or tolerate delay" but about perseverance....the enduring....extending over (sometimes) a LONG period of time....even through undesirable or unpleasant circumstances.

So...why is patience and kindness required first for love? More importantly, what does this tell us about our loving God?

Patience and kindness, in all honestly, flies in the face of pride.  We want to be heard.  We want our own way, NOW.  We do not want to wait.    We do not understand why we have to wait and we do NOT see why waiting or being nice to someone will help at all.  Least of all, how it will help US!!  This is contradictory to the way all of us are wired organically.

 Love....putting patience and kindness first.... requires putting the other persons' needs and wants before our own. Persevering and enduring through time, even though we don't get what we want. This asks that we believe that loving....giving up controlling the circumstances....for the good of another, is what REAL love is about.  Actively giving up our pride and trusting that there is good where we are. Widening our view beyond ourselves to graciously include others and look at them first. 

Lastly, if this is what God has required of us when it comes to love, I know that means that's WHO He is and how He will love us...with patience and kindness.  Now that gives hope....God persevering and enduring my mess ups...not giving up on me....looking at my needs first and giving unending grace.  Now that's hope. 

Thank you LORD for being a GOD of love....having patience and kindness being number one!

Writing

Okay, so I haven't been at the computer to word process one word of my emotions in over three months.  There's so much of life that happens in a span of one day, much more in the large span of months, but where does one find the time for all that needs to be done.  How do you prioritize when EVERYTHING seems to be important?  Vital?  Needs to be done?  And as a single Mom too...
I guess I ask myself if I like to write because it's a way to get out my thoughts on "paper" or if God has really given me a gift to express my struggles/emotions/experiences for the benefit of others.

So...it was something my eldest daughter said to me just yesterday when she quoted a piece of Scripture that goes something like this...."Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding  In all of your ways acknowledge him and He will direct your paths".    Prayer would probably be in order about this topic, now wouldn't it?