If you don’t like yourself, then you are miserable, because you never get away from yourself. Everywhere you go, you are there. To love yourself simply means that you have accepted God’s love for you. I am not suggesting that we be in love with ourselves, be selfish, and think only of ourselves, but we do need to have a healthy attitude toward ourselves and appreciate what God did when He created us.

When someone does something you don’t like and you immediately start thinking about all the qualities you don’t like about that person or to the ways they irritate you, change your thoughts and believe the best of them, as love would have you do. We never know what people may be going through to make them do what they do. Pray for them immediately. It is difficult to stay angry with someone you are praying for.

One of my peace stealers is rushing. I have to make an effort to leave enough time to do what I need to do without getting into a hurry. In addition, I’ve always been a hard worker, so lazy people annoy me, and I have to remember that we are not all alike. I’m aggressive, so passive people frustrate me. I want them to make a decision and do what they need to do without making excuses about why they aren’t doing it, but once again I need to remember that we are not all alike. I have just as many faults as anyone else, just in different areas. Most of us tend to judge people who are not strong where we are strong, but God tells us in His Word not to judge others so that we will not be judged (Matthew 7:1). Romans 2:1 tells us that we do the same things we judge in others. We see their faults, and of course we assume there is no excuse for their behavior, but we are quick to make excuses for ourselves.