Similar Verses in Bible and Chinese Classics 5 On Christian Virtues

What are the main virtues of Christians? 

What is Jesus like? 

We have the fruit of the Spirit described in Gal 5:23-24 as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We know the 9 descriptions can be grouped, even as one word, LOVE, as LOVE is defined by Paul in 1Co 13:4-8 Love is patient,  kind; rejoice at righteousness and truth and bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love is not envy nor boastful nor arrogant nor rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.

In Lao Zi's Dao De Jing Chapter 67, we have descriptions of the 3 virtues of Love, Frugality, and Putting Others First. Here are the details:

天下皆謂我道大 似不肖。夫唯大故似不肖。 若肖，久矣！其細也夫。
我有三寶 持而保之：一曰慈， 二曰儉，三曰不敢為天下先。
慈故能勇，儉故能廣，不敢為天下先 故能成器長。

今舍慈且勇，舍儉且廣，舍後且先，死矣！

夫慈以戰則勝，以守則固。天將救之 以慈衛之。

My translations:

All people under the heaven think that the Great Way (of Heaven that I preach) is useless or foolish. That is because greatness seems like folly. If it is useful, in the long run, it will be narrow and small. 
I have three treasures that I keep with me all the time. The first is love. The second is frugality (thriftiness, self-control). The third is not wanting to be first in the world. Love enables me to be brave. Frugality enables me to be generous. Not wanting to be first enables me to perform well and become the leader.
The people nowadays discard love and bravery, discard frugality and generosity, discard being last and fight for first, it will surely bring forth death!
Love will bring forth victory in attack and strong protection in defense.
Heaven will save such people and protect them with love.

 The 3 virtues correspond to the teachings of the Bible well.

1. Love: (Love is the Greatest)
   This is very obvious. Lao Zi added bravery with it. Loving others causing us to risk our lives to save them. This is precisely what Jesus did for us. He died on the cross to save us from the punishment of our sins. In addition, Lao Zi stresses that Love always wins whether in the active or receptive mode. God also saves and protects such people that act with love.
   
   
2. Frugality or Self-Control in spending: (Generosity is blessed)
   Because we exercise self-control in our spending, we shall have much to give away and be generous.
   Psa 37:21  The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;
   Psa 37:26  He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.
   
   
3. Not-Seeking to be First: (Servant Leadership)
   He is always thinking about others and putting others first. He is always serving others. No wonder that such people who put others first become the right choice of a leader.
   Mat 23:11  The greatest among you shall be your servant.
   Mat 19:30  But many who are first will be last, and the last first. 

In summary:

Love bravely, be frugal to be generous, and put others first are virtues for greatness.

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Next: Similar Verses in Bible and Chinese Classics 6 On Wealth from Righteousness 

Kindness 1st then Truth 2nd - Grace & Truth in Right Order

Pro 3:3 NASB Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Truth must be Packaged in Grace.

It is all too easy to point out the errors in others. But if our intention is to help, it must be done out of love. Correction without love and kindness only strengthens the bad behavior and defeats the objective of the correction. This is because the truth could expose our faults and weaknesses. Hence truth must be packaged in grace. Or, grace comes first before truth.

The recipient must first recognize that you care for him before he can receive any word from you. Hence, it is always relationship and trust first before any correction.

See also Tough Decision Making - Loyalty vs Righteousness

Be Selective
We must be wise in selecting the persons to whom we share.

Not all people want to know the truth or are willing to learn.

Pro 9:7-9 GW (7) Whoever corrects a mocker receives abuse. Whoever warns a wicked person gets hurt. (8) Do not warn a mocker, or he will hate you. Warn a wise person, and he will love you. (9) Give advice to a wise person, and he will become even wiser. Teach a righteous person, and he will learn more.

Earn the Right to Speak and be listened to

Why should anyone want to listen to us?

We may think the truths we want to tell, such as the Gospel of Jesus, are very important and valuable. But our audience usually does not share our enthusiasm nor believe in what we want to say. If he did not ask us and we just spoke, then he would find it irritating and shut his ears off. He may not be so rude as to tell us off but he will surely close his ears. Then we lose the purpose of our telling.

The best way is to get him to be so interested to ask us. How can we do that? 

The answer is to show love and concern first. We observe and see if there is any help that we could offer him. We need to show love to earn the trust that what we want to say is beneficial to him.

Another way is to ask for help as Jesus did in the story of the woman at the well. Asking for help shows our vulnerability and triggers the love in the other person. 

The Chinese way starts with establishing a relationship. A relationship is built through the heart and not the mind. So our speeches must start with touching the heart, then reason with the mind, and then draw out the plan for execution. Storytelling that touches the heart is always more effective than a scientific presentation of facts.

So it is always Grace first to gain the heart and then the Truth. Truth is hard and must be packaged with the softness of Grace.

Summary:
Proverbs 3:3 teaches us to always hold onto kindness and truth. Effective correction should be given with grace and love to be received well. Build trust and relationships first, focusing on those open to learning (Proverbs 9:7-9). Show genuine care to earn the right to speak, and use heartfelt storytelling for better communication.

The passage emphasizes the importance of kindness (grace) coming before truth. It highlights that for truth to be effective, it should be delivered with care and concern, building a foundation of trust first.