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I’ve often heard it said (and said myself) that “patience is a virtue.” But aside from knowing that patience is an example of a virtue, what exactly is one? According to my theological dictionary, a virtue is, “A disposition that creates passions or habits which dispose one ethically to do the right thing.” Essentially, if you have a particular virtue, it creates habits in you which guide your decisions and allow you to do the right thing. Using the example of patience, if you have the virtue of patience you will not be habitually short-tempered; you will be able to do the right thing and be patient when needed. We read a list of virtues in 2 Peter 1:5-8: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” All of these things are virtues; they are dispositions or character traits that we can have that allow us to make right decisions. As it says in verse 8, having these virtues will keep us from being ineffective in knowing Jesus. In my study for writing this blog post, I came across an interesting link. Last week’s post was on the word “veil.” One Biblical Hebrew word that means veil or covering (kessot), also means a declaration of virtue. I started the post on veil discussing how the tradition of a bride wearing a veil on her wedding day is a symbol of her purity; it declares a virtue that she has in her life, that of remaining pure for her husband. Referring to the list in 2 Peter 1 referenced above, what virtues do you have in your life? Which of those character traits do you possess, and which of them do you need to ask God to help you work on? I encourage you today to strive to become a more virtuous person with God’s help in your life.