Galatians 5:22-26

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another."
Galatians 5:22-26


The spirit is so important for us to have in our daily lives, and these verses tell us a little about what we will be like when we have the spirit. We'll be good, we'll be patient. We'll be happy and at peace. We'll be gentle, and willing to suffer whatever it is our lot to suffer. We will love the people around us and treat them (and ourselves) with gentleness. We won't let our lusts or affections rule us, and we won't seek glory. We won't provoke or envy. We'll have faith that God is doing what he needs to, and we don't have to control it. :)
Some of these things are hard. Today I am thinking especially of love and envy. As we go throughout our days, do we love people? I think we love certain people, but do we love people in general? The other people we encounter during a commute? The people we deal with when buying something? The waiter? Our coworkers? Our classmates? Salespeople? Politicians? The opposing team? :) ... I think it is pretty tough to love everyone, and some of it is pride, because we think that we are better... and some of it is envy, because we think that at least on some level, THEY are better. I'm wondering if today we can try to let go of competition and comparison entirely. If we need to be better than someone today, let's be better than we have been in the past. If we need something to aim for, let's try to measure up to what God expects of us. Just for one day, can we let go of the need to compare and criticize... to prove our worth by being superior to someone else? Let's try. Let's be the best people we can be, improving on who we are, and celebrating other people's progress as well. Let's love, and help everyone come closer to God.