But as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute.
II Corinthians 6:4-8
In this passage, Paul reveals his love through the things he has done. He has endured great depths of physical suffering. He realizes that suffering for Christ's sake should never be a source of pride. Despite his afflictions and hardships, his spirit is strengthened by qualities of purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness, love, truthful speech and the power of God. He has only one weapon and that is acting in accord with God's divine law. In all of this, Paul is subjected to man's favorable and unfavorable opinions. He does not let this affect his course.
As we make our way through life during good times and bad and we consider our actions, we need to always remember the importance of our character. The highest standards of character, together with God's love should be our guide. Often we are tempted to tweak some of our important standards to make them work for us. We easily find ways to justify our deviated path and make our own rules. Too often we let circumstances or people's expectations control or influence us. Like Paul, we need to be resilient. We don’t need to give into public opinion or pressure. We need to be firm and refuse to compromise our character and God’s standards.
Kelly Richard
