Gentleness.

It’s one of the fruits of the Spirit, listed in Galations 5 along with values such as love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control. It’s brought up time and time again by Paul in his various New Testament books, as he advises the God’s people to “let your gentleness be evident to all” and “clothe yourselves” with gentleness (Philippians 4:6, Colossians 3:12). 

Gentleness is also given to us as a trait of Jesus, by Jesus himself. “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).

For some of us, gentleness comes easily. It is a natural part of who we are and how we interact with the world. 

For others, gentleness isn’t so easy. We often find ourselves butting heads with those around us, surrounded by tension we never meant to create. 

But let’s go back for a moment.

What is gentleness, and why does it matter?

My favorite defintion of gentleness comes from an article from Focus on the Family (The Strength of Gentleness) The article describes gentleness as “a strong hand with a soft touch.” When Paul tells us to be gentle, he is not telling us to be passive. He is not telling us to be weak. And he is certainly not telling us to ignore the injustice in the world. 

We can show strength through our gentleness. A gentle spirit takes action, but the action is taken in a way that is kind, compassionate, and patient.

In essence, gentleness is the combination of many of the other fruits of the spirit that Paul lists in Galations. Gentleness is a sort of kindness, and patience, and it definitely takes a good amount of self-control. Through gentleness, we can open our hearts to truly listen to those around us and seek out what is best for them. Through gentleness, we show the kind of love that Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 13. 

Through gentleness, we take one step closer to being like Jesus and following in his footsteps.

And just like we find rest in our souls in the gentleness of Jesus Christ, when we are gentle, the people around us might feel at rest in our company as well.

But how do we do the work of gentleness when we are living in a world that doesn’t feel very gentle?

How do we pursue gentleness when people speak out against us (1 Peter 3:15-16)? How can we be more gentle when it just doesn’t come naturally to us?

As is the case whenever we are trying to grow to be more like our Savior and Redeemer in one way or another, I believe the first step is to pray and to self-reflect. Pray for more gentleness. Observe yourself, and watch for the opposite of gentleness to appear in your life: unkindness or inflexibility or severity. 

When we do notice that our words or actions or even that are thoughts are contrary to the Biblical idea of gentleness, we should stop what we are doing. Then we should ask God to replace the bitterness in our hearts with gentleness.

This is not a simple process. I wish there was a magic prayer we could say, or a secret potion that would give us the cure for gentleness forever.

But as we grow in our faith, as we strive to be more like Christ, we are on a journey each and every day. And the pursuit of gentleness is no different. So as we work toward gentleness, let’s be gentle with ourselves, too.

And never forget, you are onederfully created.

Love,
Becca