I’ve heard that Albert Einstein once said, “The problem with the speed of light is it comes too early in the morning!”

Some people just jump out of bed and start running. The rest of us drag ourselves out in the morning - hang on with a cup of coffee - and try to go through the morning routine. Physically we’re up at 7:00 - but, mentally we wake up around 10:00 - if at all.

This morning we’re looking at a passage of Scripture where Paul is going to tell us to get up - and get going - spiritually. To face our day with confidence and courage. And to quote the US Army - “Be All That You Can Be.”

I invite you to turn with me to Colossians 3:12-14. This morning we’re looking at 8 positive virtues that can lead us to success in our Christian life.

Paul writes, Colossians 3:12-14: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

There is one thing that each of us does every morning - since we were able to - and that’s get dressed. We put on our clothes. We get dressed thinking about what’s going to happen during the day - to dress appropriately - do we wear work clothes or casual clothes - dress for warm weather or cold? We dress for success in the day.

The same is true for us spiritually. When we go out into the world each day - we need to be spiritually prepared - dressed - if we’re going to be successful.

Paul says, if you want to be successful in the Christian life - you need to “put on” these 8 virtues. First, “Put on....”

1. COMPASSION

Back Jesus’ day, people believed that our emotions originated from down by our intestines. Today, we sometimes say, “I’ve got a gut feeling about that” - same idea.

I once heard a joke about a man who jumped off the Empire State Building to show his girlfriend he had guts. Please don’t hold that against me.

It takes guts to be compassionate - its not easy - and its not often rewarded. But as Christians we are called to empathize with others - to sympathize - to show tenderness - pity - concern.

Compassion is being “co-passionate” - from deep within our feelings being able to place ourselves within the feelings and suffering of someone else.

When we wake up in the morning - and our spouse has her hair all messed up - a bad case of “bed head” - or our husband hasn’t shaved - we need to be compassionate. At work or school with the guy who really gets under our skin - we need to be compassionate.

Second, “put on...”

2. KINDNESS

Kindness reveals our compassion. Kindness is how we act out our compassion through a smile - a kind or encouraging word - a thank you note - a phone call - helping others.

Third, “put on...”

3. LOWLINESS - HUMILITY

Samuel Morse - who invented the telegraph - was asked if he ever encountered situations where he didn’t know what to do.

Morse said, “More than once, and whenever I could not see my way clearly, I knelt down and prayed to God for light and understanding.”

Samuel Morse received many honors from his invention of the telegraph but felt undeserving: He said, “I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other men but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone and He was pleased to reveal it to me.”

Its said that the first test of a truly great man is his humility. Really great men have a feeling that greatness is not in them but through them; that they could not do or be anything except that it was God who enabled them to do it.

Someone put it this way, “All of us are made in the same mold, only some are moldier than others!” We should never think of ourselves as being better than anyone else.

4. MEEKNESS

When we hear the word meek we often think weak - some 90 pound weakling who gets sand kicked in his face. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is strength under control.

Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart....” (Matthew 11:29) The yoke of oxen has a cross piece which holds together two loops - one larger and one smaller. In the larger loop they put the neck of the older - more experienced ox - in the smaller loop they put the neck of the younger “trainee” ox. So as they plow or thresh or whatever - the “trainee” ox is lead around and learns from the experienced ox.

Meekness means realizing our need to learn from Jesus - to follow Him - to voluntarily put ourselves under His leadership - so that He can control our actions. Meekness is submitting our strength to the control of Jesus so that we act properly towards others.

5. PATIENCE

Literally - long-suffering - enduring someone else's exasperating conduct without flying into a rage. Emerson once said, “A man is a hero, not because he is braver than anyone else, but because he is braver ten minutes longer.”

We all have to be patient at some time. We wait in line. We wait in traffic. We are called on to be patient with our spouses and our kids and with each other. Of course - all these people have to be patient with us too. Sometimes its really hard to be patient.

6. BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER - FORBEARANCE

This is the positive side of patience. Its not just “counting to ten” and hoping we’ll calm down. Forbearance is what we do after we “count to ten.” - after we’re patient. Its putting up with things so that we can encourage someone else - uplift them - support them - help them to move forward in life.

7. FORGIVENESS

Paul writes in verse 13: “If anyone has a complaint against any one; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”

I remember talking with someone who would not talk with a certain man. Now, let me qualify this by saying that this was in another church. This could never happen here.

These two people hadn’t genuinely spoken to each other in over 30 years. Apparently this other man had done something back in the old country and they never spoke about it - never aired out their differences - there was no movement towards forgiveness.

The Bible tells us, when someone sins against us to go to that person in private and tell him what he’s done. (Matthew 18:15) We don’t need to hang on to the feelings of injustice or unfairness. We should say how we feel - and this is the hard part - but its the point - after we say what we need to say - we need to forget it. Forgive it and move on.

Paul says that we need to follow the example of Jesus. When we come to Jesus as our Savior - and ask His forgiveness for our sins - He forgives us - and that’s it. He no longer holds our sins against us.

Forgiveness means that we never again bring up to the person we forgave the thing we forgave. Imagine if God constantly dragged out reminders of our past and held us accountable for those sins - there’s no forgiveness in that.

Forgiveness means that we don’t tell anybody else about what’s forgiven - no gossip or boasting.

Forgiveness means that we don’t dwell on what’s been forgiven - no rehashing the wrong to make ourselves feel good about how wonderful we are because we forgave someone.

Finally, Paul says to “put on...”

8. LOVE

Paul says that love is “beyond” the other 7 virtues. Love is the bond that holds them all together. Love is the willful choice to care for others regardless of what we get back from them.

8 virtues that lead to success in life.

Its uncomfortable to hear a list like this. So often we think that when we become Christians all of this sort of just happens in our lives. But we struggle with ourselves because we know that when we look at ourselves and what God expects - we have a ways to go - we don’t measure up. Practically speaking - how do these virtues become a part of our character?

We began by talking about people who just jump out of bed in the morning and start their day running. God bless them - I’m not one of them. Consciousness for me starts at around 10:00 a.m., or so. And every morning I have to do a reality check before I face the day.

Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” There are mornings when I don’t feel like rejoicing or being glad in it. I have to remind myself that the Lord made this day and gave it to me. I need to choose to follow Him through it - one step at a time.

Paul writes in verse 12 that we are “chosen of God, holy and beloved.” God has chosen each one of us - set us apart - and He loves us. God didn’t choose us to abandon us - set us apart to alienate us - love us to hurt us. We are His. And God wants to empower us with these 8 virtues - to instill these virtues in us.

And we can choose each day to let Him do that.

Putting on these 8 is a daily process that takes time. There are patterns in our lives that are wrong - and very deep within us - we struggle to live like we know we should. But God chose us and He will help us. In Jesus - we have the freedom to choose. We need to daily come to Him and ask Him to help us with these. And He will.