⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8 CSB)

Possessing a quality typically means that you are living that quality. If we are doing so only intermittently, then it may be that while we possess some element of a quality, it is not truly one we live by. It may be a false quality that we only want others to think we possess but are not truly part of who we are.

Godly qualities are a fruitful byproduct of a Godly nature. They are something that we not only practice, but become so ingrained that they are second nature to us. They are simply part of who we are.

The Godly qualities we possess must, in time, begin to take control over our basal qualities, or our more brutal human nature. As this happens our level of empathy and humbleness increases and more and more we find that what energizes us is doing for others rather than doing for ourselves. In this we should begin to display the character of Christ.