A person of virtue

Hello everyone,

How are you doing on this day? I hope well and bubbling in the Lord.

Primary Text

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” 2 Peter 1v5-7 (KJV)

“So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love,…” 2 Peter 1v5-7 (MSG)

One of the key things a believer is told to add to our faith, is virtue. The Bible says to give all diligence to it. To give diligence to something means to pay attention to it, be thorough and meticulous about it. Virtue can be explained as moral excellence, goodness, good character, and righteousness. One synonym for it is integrity. As we go through life, we need to develop virtue. Virtuousness becomes evident in the different roles that we play e.g. as workers in our work place, as a husband, as a wife, as a child or a parent in the home, and as a worker serving in the church. Proverbs 31 speaks of a virtuous woman, describing her as one whose price is far above rubies. Some of the qualities she has include: taking care of her home, is a hard workers, gives her husband no cause to doubt her, but rather he safely trusts in her; and she fears God. In the verse below, we see Boaz give a good report of Ruth, the daughter-in-law of Naomi. Ruth had come to Bethlehem with Naomi, leaving her own country of Moab. In Bethlehem she had continued to stay faithful to Naomi, doing what she could to provide food for them both to eat. One question to ask is are you a person of virtue? Are you faithful in the tasks assigned to you? Are you excellent in the work that you do? What would others say about you? Even if you have attained some level of virtue, keep building on it, developing it by the grace and power of the Spirit.

Supplementary Text

 ^“And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.” (Ruth 3v11, KJV)

“And now, my daughter, fear not. I will do for you all you require, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of strength (worth, bravery, capability).” Ruth 3v11 (AMP)

Prayer

Father, I thank You for Your Word. Thank You for giving me all things that pertain to life and godliness. Father, I pray that You will help me to be virtuous, and to continue to develop virtue in every area of my life in Jesus name, amen.