By Barbara Dahlgren
Yet Another Year of Choices…
One fruit of the Holy Spirit is gentleness. (Galatians 5:22) The Greek word for gentleness is “prautes” or “praotes” which means gentle, meek, and to have a “grace of the soul.” Gentleness and meekness are interchangeable in some Bible translations like the NKJV.
The Bible places great importance on gentleness or meekness. It says the meek will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5) However, meek isn’t a very popular or common word today. Our society is obsessed with being aggressive. To get ahead you must swim with the sharks. It’s a dog-eat-dog world and wimpy people get gobbled up pretty fast. However, associating meekness with weakness is a big mistake. Gentleness or meekness is not weakness. Jesus described Himself as a meek man and He was far from a weak, spineless jellyfish, flip-flopping around issues. (Matthew 11:29) He was not indifferent to His surrounds or the needs of others.
Many legendary historical figures like Lincoln, Gandhi, Einstein, and Mother Teresa have been gentle and meek, but not timid. They didn’t need to project their importance to others. They had purpose and the ability to stand in the face of every obstacle thrown their way. This inner resolve is very precious to God. (1 Peter 3:4) It actually takes a great deal of inner strength to be really gentle. Gentleness has been described as strength under control.
It’s interesting to note that the word “gentle” was rarely heard before the Christian era, and the word gentleman was not known. This high quality of character was actually a direct by-product of the Christian era.
Being gentle or meek translates into what we think of ourselves and we what we think of others.
How do we treat others when we have power over them? Blessed is the person who doesn’t think more highly of himself than he ought to when others are praising and promoting him as compared to the time in life when he was a virtual nobody.
We need to be gentle in the words we speak. (Proverbs 15:1; Proverbs 25:11-15) We need to be gentle in how we treat others. (1 Thessalonians 2:7) Our gentleness should be evident to all. (Philippians 4:5) It’s not our beauty God values, but our gentle spirit. (1 Peter 3:4) A gentle spirit is not confrontational. (1 Corinthians 4:21) A spirit of gentleness is kind to those who make mistakes and knows that “there but for the grace of God go I!” (Galatians 6:1) God called us to walk with a spirit of gentleness. (Ephesians 4:1) When called upon to give an answer, one who possesses godly gentleness does so confidently – not with an “in your face” attitude, but one with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)
Consider this… People with gentle spirits do not impute wrong motives to others while self-justifying their own behavior which is illustrated in this narrative:
The Other Fellow
When the other fellow takes a long time, he’s slow.
When I take a long time, I’m thorough.
When the other fellow doesn’t do it, he’s lazy.
When I don’t do it, I’m busy.
When the other fellow does something without being told, he’s overstepping his bounds.
When I do it, I’m taking initiative.
When the other fellow overlooks a rule of etiquette, he’s rude.
When I skip the rules, I’m original.
When the other fellow pleases the boss, he’s an apple-polisher.
When I please the boss, I’m cooperating.
When the other fellow gets ahead, he’s getting the breaks.
When I manage to get ahead, it’s because I’ve worked hard.
One final thought…
A gentle spirit will treat those under them like they would want to be treated – not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because they know they might be working for them one day.
