The Perfect Glue

We think too much and feel too little.
More than machinery we need humanity;
More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness.
Without these qualities we will be violent
and all will be lost.
(Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" 1940)

Therefore...clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness & patience.
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances
you may have against one another...
And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.
(Colassians 3:12-14)

How do I possibly manage to do that in my own strength? Writing these noble ideals is much easier than putting them into practice in my daily life.

I read about the post-earthquake devastation in Haiti and the virtues of kindness and compassion come quickly to the forefront of my mind. A driver cuts me off on the highway or a clerk is rude or a drunk is lying on the sidewalk, my mind ~ and my heart ~ doesn't always leap to the loving virtues that glue humanity together. No, the reality is that I cannot do this by relying only on myself.

God calls us to love each other as we love ourselves, indeed as He loves us. I can only do that with His help through Christ.

...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
(Galatians 5:22)

Otherwise, I am merely another flawed human being who, like so many of the rest of my species, worships on the altar of intellect and accomplishment, choosing who receives my kindness and compassion, and expecting love and adoration in return. I don't want to be "of man," I want to be "of God," allowing His Spirit to course through me. I want others to see Him in how I treat them because His unfailing and unfathomable love is truly the glue that keeps humanity together daily when we get out of our own way.