DEALING WITH HUMAN IMPERFECTIONS.

Every day, we meet people. Most of the time, we are judgmental about their character. Which is completely natural by the way.

Our natural senses then to notice flaws in people, physical or character wise. Sometimes, it’s not that we wish to. It just happens.

We tend to forget that we also have flaws that we have not completely taken absolute control of. We also have issues that we battle with, secretly or openly.

Any which way, we are faced with the challenge of dealing with some very uncomfortable imperfections. The sad truth is that these imperfections might never be totally eroded.

But Hebrews 12:14 says; “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:”(KJV)

We have to live with these imperfections, comfortable or not.
However, there are ways of managing these imperfections. This is what I would be sharing with you today.

1. Understand Temperament.

This is one thing that many people do not understand. Temperament is one thing that would determine how people react to things. Not everyone has the same temperament.

There are four temperaments;

i. Sanguine: This is one of the most jovial of all temperaments. They avoid trying problems. They can choose to talk about anything else in the face of reality.

ii. Choleric: This set of people tend to want to deal with issues instantly. Sharp sharp things. When it doesn’t play out that way, it can cause arguments or squabbles.

iii. Melancholy: This set of people allow their problems to overwhelm them. They sit and drown themselves in self pity and depression. They have a passive fighting energy.

iv. Phlegmatic: This set of people are lazyyyyyy. They are hardly serious with anything. They are hardly responsible. They do not meet up with people on time, they are rarely get around.

NOTE: To study more on temperaments, read “Why you act the way you do” by Tim Lahaye.

People are not their temperaments because of what they do. Rather, they act the way they do because of the temperament they are.

They are two different things.

A Yoruba man is not a Yoruba man because he speaks Yoruba, that’s just the least of it. He is a Yoruba man because He behaves like a Yoruba man and he is a Yoruba man by descent.

He could have lived in a Yoruba land and behave, speak and think like Yoruba people do. However, he will only truly be a Yoruba man if his discent says so.

In everything you do, your temperament is seen. You cannot hide it, it’s a crucial part of your identity. Rather, it can be worked with to make you a better person.

However, we must have this knowledge of temperaments. Without knowledge, you wouldn’t even know how to start. If you don’t understand someone’s temperament, you’ll be in for a frustrated friendship.

Which brings us to the next point.

2. Understand your friend.

Yes, you know his temperament. Still, there’s a place for understanding that person.

Your friend can have the will to change some things about his temperament. Sadly, these are things that are existent. They can only be managed and suppressed.

Understanding will make things a lot easier.

Your own temperament might negate that of your friend. For some reason, God might ask you keep some friendship. It’s not a punishment. It’s a way of God making you look beyond his temperament to who he really is, as God has said.

Let me also add that your friend goes way way beyond his temperament. That’s the reason he behaves how he is but there is nature of Christ that would outshine any temperament no matter how hard it is.

This would bring us to the third point.

3. PUT ON THE NATURE OF CHRIST.

When Christ was on earth, there was no record of sin or misbehavior. He was completely controlled by the nature within Him, even from His childhood days.

What is that nature within Him?
The nature of LOVE.

St. Matthew 22:37-40(KJV) says;
37. “Jesus replied, ” ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
38. This is the first and greatest commandment.

39. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. ‘
40. All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. “

One rule that we have in the body of Christ is love. I’ve always said this and I’ll say it again; love is ‘inspite of’, like is ‘because of’. Love is a blood, bone and spirit deep connection.

That’s why the body of Christ is joined by the cord of love, to Jesus and then one another. We are in a circle of love. Jesus at the top, spreading His energy to us all. The scripture above taught me something I’ll love to share.

The love of Christ is the one that superceeds in our hearts as children of God. It’s that same love of God that would make us love one another. This is because the love of God is shead abroad in our hearts.

The bible tells us that ‘out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth/body/everything speaks’. If the love of God is burning in your heart, you will find it easy to show love to people.

4. TOLERANCE, PATIENCE & SACRIFICE.

This is a fruit of the spirit that many people lack. It is understandable that everyone cannot be like you. It’s actually impossible for everyone to be exactly like you.

We all have different interests and goals. We also have different backgrounds and history. You cannot expect someone to give up his lifestyle to suit you.

You’re not also expected to give up your lifestyle to suit anyone. Everyone is born with different approaches to life and living in general.

One thing that would help is if you learn to tolerate one another. We are not perfect and sometimes, our emotions get ahead of us. We must learn to be patient with each other and tolerate some shortcomings.

Your approach to things matter a lot.Two fires cannot stay in a building. That is a subscription for death. They will both turn the building to a pile of ashes!

We must learn to;

-Sacrifice for each other. The life of Christ is a life of sacrifice. The sacrifices don’t just end in ministry. It cuts across everything we do and we lay our hand on.

-Tolerate one another. Tolerance is one of the things that Jesus used His life to demonstrate. He didn’t just teach us tolerance, He showed us what tolerance means.

-Exercise patience. Patience is a virtue, they say. Patience is one thing that we must have in life to gain all we deserve. Most people loose out on great things in life because they couldn’t wait for it.

On a final note, we must not forget that we are also imperfect and that we will offend other. We must then live a life of respect and live for all those around us. It’s not a chore, it’s a thing of joy.


Happy Sunday!🌹
#GrowingInGrace