Fruits of the Spirit Series - Gentleness

I just stubbed my toe, sending a surge of pain through my foot and immediate evidence of my mistake with oozing blood and a limp. Oh, how I wish I had gently hit my foot against the wall! Of course, I was rushing, trying to scratch off things on my "to-do" list and wasn't watching where I was stepping. As we all settle down after a busy holiday season, we can make time to reflect on our ability to be gentle towards others: our approach, our speech, even our physical touch. 

To be gentle is to be moderate in action effect, or degree and not to be harsh or severe. 

As a telephone triage nurse, I must use gentleness in how I speak with patients. Some patients may be having full-blown panic attacks, while others are anxious first-time parents worrying about how their child will handle their first illness. Imagine if I responded aggressively, telling people to calm down or that they should have just taken their child to the doctor. It would sound uncaring, flippant, and quite frankly rude. We must approach others with a level of gentleness so that they not only feel that you are concerned, but also feel at ease in establishing trust and taking your advice on how to take the next steps. God does this with us. Instead of telling us that we are wrong, He deals gently with us, allowing us to gain a greater understanding while patiently working with us to develop into who He called us to be.

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” -Exodus 1:15-16

In the Bible, Israel was under the harsh rule of Pharaoh in Egypt. He was not gentle at all, even killing the Israelite male children so that their population could not continue to thrive (Exodus 1:15-16). In the end, Pharaoh received recompense for his lack of gentleness when plagues fell upon the Egyptians (Exodus 7-11). This serves as a reminder that if we don’t exercise gentleness, God sees the pain of those we inflict and will ensure that justice is served. 

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. -Matthew 11:29

There are times when we may find it hard to be gentle—maybe our children have worked our last nerve, or someone at our job keeps gossiping about us, and we want to stand our ground in a way the Holy Spirit does not direct. Our words and actions carry weight, and this can either reflect God’s truth or reveal the truth in our hearts: that we still need work. Whatever it may be, God asks us to come to Him with whatever is causing us to stray away from gentleness so that He can stand in the gap and both speak for and defend us. When we remove the hard, stoniness of our hearts, it allows God to enter in and mold and shape us (Ezekiel 36:26). However, if we reject hearts of flesh, we may end up like Pharaoh, destroyed by pride, ashamed, and committing senseless evil deeds.

You have given me the shield of salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. -Psalm 18:35

More scriptures to review:

• Colossians 3:12

• Ephesians 4:2

• Proverbs 15:1

• 1 Peter 3:4

Reflection:

• Last year, what were ways that God showed His gentleness in your life? Did you go and do likewise to those around you?

  
  

• How do you plan to exercise gentleness in this new year?

  
  

• What characteristics align with this fruit?

  
  

• What can you do to better cultivate this fruit?

Sources

• The Holy Spirit

• The Holy Bible

• Oxford Dictionary