Posted by joseph

prayer

Eric Tan

In the 21st century, life has become so fast paced, with information right at our fingertips. However, it’s amazing how we still get communication mixed up. Words take on a life of their own and often carry multiple meanings. This is so true of the word ‘gentleness.’

In today’s world, gentleness has come to mean mild or soft. An updated collegiate dictionary defined it as “enduring injury with patience and without resentment.” Though these words paint a picture of what gentleness is as we know it, this is not a complete picture of Biblical gentleness.

Jesus, who lived a perfect life & who was filled with the Holy Spirit, was always gentle. Yet some of His actions seem to contradict our modern day definition of gentleness. Our definition is lacking when we see Jesus, a picture of true gentleness, rebuking His disciples or turning over tables in the temple courts (Matt. 21:12).

Gentleness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is brought about by yielding to the Holy Spirit’s will in our lives and not following our own wills. To be truly gentle we must be guided by the Holy Spirit in all our actions.

Moses, though he was the leader of the Israelites, showed gentleness when his brother Aaron and sister Miriam envied his position (Numbers 12). He did not get angry despite what they did to him. He was humble despite his position. He could’ve easily told them that he was appointed as their leader by God himself and used the miracles God performed through him to prove it. But he did not focus on his position. Instead of focusing on himself, he focused on God.

Meekness and humility are part of being truly gentle. Meekness is submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit. To be truly gentle, we must be humble and submit to God, not to anybody else. True gentleness lies in knowing that it is God whom we are serving and it is God who should be glorified – Not anybody else, not even ourselves. It is doing what God wants and not acting “like” God. In our everyday lives, it is easy to focus on ourselves and on problems & insecurities. These can bring us into conflict with people that naturally make us angry. It is only when we truly know who we are in Christ that we can be secure and be truly gentle.

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