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Brethren, over the years, I've come to value and importance one virtue in particular, which is a key to having good human relationships. And this is something that I became aware of as I got older in life. I didn't know it in my first twenty or twenty-five years. This virtue is found in James chapter 3 verse 17. James chapter 3 verse 17. He says, But the wisdom that is from above, that means the one that comes from God, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield. That's the key concept I want to focus on. It goes on to say, So this term, willing to yield, is even better described in the King James version. It says the following, Easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. So this term, easy to be entreated, is something that has stuck in my mind as life goes on. The reference translation here of the universal cross-reference treasury says, Easily entreated to be entreated or accommodating or approachable or readily giving way in argument or open to reason. It comes from the Greek term, which means easily persuaded. And it goes on to say, Well, we should all feel we are part of an inferior rank and not a superior rank. Especially when dealing with each other and when people try to help us with wise correction.
Notice what Proverbs 25.12 says. Proverbs 25.12 Another translation, the term obedient ear, is what we're easily entreated. Somebody that listens and is able to yield, to open their mind to it, not close your mind to it. In the Good News Bible version, it says, So, a warning given by an experienced person to someone willing to listen, that helps a person out so much. Another translation, the Passion Translation, says, To humbly receive wise correction adorns your life with beauty and makes you a better person. And I certainly agree with that.
It is one of God's fruits of the Spirit. In the New Testament, it's called meekness. And Webster's Dictionary defines it as Notice another scripture which talks about how Jesus Christ was easily entreated. In Philippians 2 verses 3 through 8, the apostle Paul describes that this being easily entreated was a characteristic of Christ. And still is, of course. He's up in heaven now. Philippians 2, 3 through 8, Paul says, Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, the one who had been the Word, God in the flesh, who created the universe through God's instructions. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So I submit to you that a good way to improve our relationships is to take that point of view, instead of from a superior to an inferior. Well, let's begin thinking of ourselves first as the inferior talking to someone who is superior, a person who has an ear that is obedient and is easily untreated.
Mr. Seiglie was born in Havana, Cuba, and came to the United States when he was a child. He found out about the Church when he was 17 from a Church member in high school. He went to Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, and in Pasadena, California, graduating with degrees in theology and Spanish. He serves as the pastor of the Garden Grove, CA UCG congregation and serves in the Spanish speaking areas of South America. He also writes for the Beyond Today magazine and currently serves on the UCG Council of Elders. He and his wife, Caty, have four grown daughters, and grandchildren.