Text: “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions” (Romans 14:1).

Context, Context, Context: Paul was the sherherding leader. Paul knew the Lord more intimately than those he led. Why? Because how can you be qualified to lead and teach if you’re a neophyte? Pride precedes the fall, that is bromidic. Thus, it is essential for us to listen to wisdom, to inculcate it in our ministries.

You need some scars. You need some experience. You need God’s wisdom. And Paul, sinner though he was, was God’s man. And he, too, had to learn patience. And if there’s a hard lesson to learn when you’re trying to lead, that’s it: patience. Be patient with others, because they might not be as biblically mature.

Encouragement: Ever battle the temptation to just say, “Oh my goodness! How can you not understand this? This is so basic! I certainly have. But God is patient with us, dear ones, and we are to emulate that patience by being patient with others. It’s easy to win an argument but lose the person. Let us aim not to do that. Let us recognize that it’s people we are about, not just about appearing to win a temporal argument.