Patience, patience, patience…

I’ve been reading 1 Thessalonians. A very wonderful little book.

But this verse got the better of me the other day.

1 Thessalonians 5:14: “…warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak. Be patient with everyone.”

It sounds straightforward enough. But sometimes I can’t help getting confused about the difference between being idle and being weak. Or the difference between disheartened and disruptive.

Sometimes I wonder if I haven’t actually warned the weak and the disheartened, and encouraged the idle and the disruptive!

The rest of the verse is a great challenge to me. Patience with people, especially idle, disruptive, and weak people is not one of my top talents. And I even find it hard to be patient with those who are disheartened among us.