patience is a virtue...but dont compromise the cores

almost every day, i get to witness immaturity at a level i never thought imaginable. today was no different. on occasion durring my ride home on the bus i get to listen to high schoolers talk like and about things you would expect a 5th grader to talk like and about. it is very sad......trust me. seeing this lack of maturity troubles me. i fear that todays teenagers are probably the most immature bunch this world has ever had the sad privilege of bearing.

today, i listened to two boys who were 15 years old talk about home coming. durring their loud obnoxious immature discussion of this topic i learned that they both planed on having sex in a hotel that would be secured by a friend who was 18 and had a credit card, immediately following the dance. almost in the same breath one boy mentioned how he had a friend who assured him he would pick him up no matter how drunk or high he might be, and then the two started joking about it. now, if you know me i have very little tolerance for immaturity.....and in my flesh i wanted to turn around and punch these two kids in the face so they would be physically incapable of speaking anymore. that was my flesh.

i restrained myself long enough to get to my bus stop where i exited and thanked God for helping me hold back and allowing my stop to be so close. but my mind started thinking. i was so impatient with these two children that i wanted to knock them out for their immaturity and stupidity. and i started thinking, how often do i deserve that to be done to me? how often am i immature and stupid. how many times does God sit on His throne and just shake His head?

the patience that God exhibits with us is unfathomable. no matter what i do, how immature i am or how stupid i am, i know that God still loves me. now there have been times in my life where He has smacked me on the back of the head.....and i needed it. but He is a patient God, a loving God. it is a reminder to me that as a follower of Christ, and even more so as a minister i must have a patient Spirit when it comes to dealing with people. not that i lower my standards, or compromise my values or beliefs to be patient, but that i be lovingly patient, seeking what is best for that person.

in other words, next time something like this happens im going to say something.......cause confronting the issue in this case is better than letting it go. especially since il have the STA rules and regulations backing me up!