The Fruit Of Gentleness Series

Paul - who was shown God’s gentleness in Christ - showed us what gentleness is all about. In the Corinthian congregation - he had a group of people who thought that strength was shown in how well you could speak. A group of impressive and “high power” speakers had come into the congregation and started telling the congregation how to live a true Christian life. They went so far as to make fun of Paul because he wasn’t a very good speaker - and because he wasn’t very forceful in his personality. The Corinthians even got to the point where they felt they were seemingly stronger than Paul! Instead of yelling at them and trying to meet up to THEIR standards, Paul simply wrote in 2 Corinthians 13, We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection. This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. Note the humility and the tone of this letter. Paul had every right to show his authority and tell them the way it was. They deserved to be yelled at, but he didn’t want to do it that way. Instead, he prayed for their strength. He encouraged them by writing to them what the right path was to take, in order that they could reform their ways so that he wouldn’t have to show his “strength.” Without backing down or allowing their weakness to get out of control, Paul gently corrected them and instructed them - in order to help them get on the proper road.

This fruit of gentleness is a very rare fruit - especially in today’s society. In politics, one group will say, “we feel your pain”, but do nothing to help it. Another group will say, “it’s your mess, get yourself out of it.” Neither is a gentle solution. In society, they want equality between men and women - but their version of this encourages women to act like men - to smoke cigarettes and talk dirty talk - to be rude and rough. We live in a society that trains it’s children to emulate Hulk Hogan and the Terminator. High school kids drive around their hot rods, flip people off and wear their hats backwards. (Listen to me, I’ve turned into my grandpa - but that’s ok.) Twelve and thirteen year old kids are walking around with tattoos - nose rings - you name it. Husbands and wives live in a household of ridicule and derail each other and treat each other like the Osbournes. Reality shows teach us that it’s normal to tear each other apart to try and win in the end. If you really want to make a positive statement in our society - why not try some gentleness? Instead of flaunting your strengths or trying to put on a persona of how might you are - try a little gentleness. If you’ve got some strengths - use them to help people. If you see someone that needs some help - and you’ve got the ability to help - don’t get angry at someone for making you walk a mile. Take the time and effort to walk an extra mile with them. That’s what gentleness is all about. When a diamond is placed against a black cloth - it stands out all the more. Let your gentleness be evident to all.