Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I used to think these traits – or attributes developed over time. Now, I am realizing it is more than growing and maturing in faith. Rather, it actually takes some purposeful choices.
Most of my daily interaction is with my family. With them, it is easy to move into a mode of coasting — doing what I always do. If I want to extend love, I must purpose to think and do love. If I want to exhibit gentleness, I must move out of the daily routines of perfunctory living and actually make deliberate decisions to be gentle.
If I want to be thought of as having these traits, it is not sufficient to be on a zero scale. I cannot say, I am not unkind. To actually be thought of as kind I must do kind things. There must be an engagement of the brain and heart that affect the behavior.
conscious effort is required