Secret Strength ....Gentleness Part 11 of the Nature of the Fruit.

LBS

The Nature of the Fruit

Part 11

Secret Strength...Gentleness

I have to admit, I don’t have a great enthusiasm for gentleness. Certainly a soft touch is nice once in a while. But gentleness hardly seems a riveting theme. It seems tame, docile, and maybe even weak. 

I have come to realize, in a world where the outspoken and the pushy get noticed or get their way, and conflict grabs our interest, that we often underestimate the power of gentleness. For we live in a world of friction. 

Humans being can be destructively harsh. We are often severe with each other, sometimes brutal. Rudeness, disrespect, angry outbursts. We may not wear the rough clothing of the barbarians of the past, but or treatment of each other is often just as barbaric. And that’s why we need gentleness. 

Gentleness is not weakness, only the strong can choose to be composed and civil. 

Pushiness and unchecked aggressiveness are the easy ways to respond, The public may applaud the person who gets to the top by stepping on others, but who wants to marry that person?

Gentleness is not just passive submission. Letting other people walk all over you is not the gist of a gentle spirit; it is just getting stepped on. Gentleness is the response that says, “please remove your shoe from my back. It does not belong there. And it does neither of us any good for it to remain there. 

Responding to the world around you

Gentleness has to be a pattern. Rare and passing acts of gentleness do not produce civility; they only confuse others. If a dog licks your extended hand three times out of ten and bites it the other seven times, the friendly licks don’t mean much. So it is with us. We need God to develop in us a pattern of gentleness, because only God can put a spirit of gentleness into us so that we can develop a consistent habit of considerate, moderate responses to the people and the events of our lives.

How can we develop a pattern of gentleness? 

1. Ask God to moderate your responses to others. Many of our rude moments come when we react instead of respond. The Bible says, james 1:19 Read Allowed.  Read Proverbs 15:1 also
2. See gentleness as the way to express other character patterns: Love, patience, kindness etc...Read  Eph 4:2. 
3. Focus on the gentleness with which God has treated all of us. Col. 3:12

1. Pay attention to those who speak with gentleness. Those who speak sparingly and show no need to impress anybody else are the ones whose voices we tend to strain to hear. God speaks through people of all kinds of different voices. God uses blasters and he uses whisperers. The point is to think of how much we miss when we pay attention only to the loudest voices in the room. 

1. Appreciate the power and strategic importance of gentleness. Ask yourself this: If you were not a believer and someone approached you to convince you of the truth of the gospel of Christ, would you be more likely to believe a bombastic, over bearing presentation or one that respects you as a thinking, independent person? (Phil. 4:5)and 1 Peter 3:15.

6. Learn from the gentleness of Jesus. Matt. 11:29

Points to Ponder

Talk about some examples of when you have seen someone respond gently in a dicey situation. How did gentleness affect the situation?