Gentleness

When I think of gentleness, I think of touching a baby, animal or human; caring for a child when he or she is hurt; a soft breeze.  But I also tend to think of it in terms of what gentleness is not.  It is not harsh, condemning, cold, or mean.  Dictionary.com defines gentle as "mild; kindly" or "not rough or severe; moderate."

In Scripture, we are commanded many times to be gentle and to live a life characterized by gentleness.  Phil. 4:5 commands, "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." Eph. 4:2 states, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." I Pet. 3:4 tells us that "a gentle and quiet spirit" is "of great worth in God's sight. 

So, what does it really mean to be a gentle person? As I was studying the different Bible verses dealing with gentleness, I noticed that the characteristic is often linked with compassion, kindness, humility and/or patience.  (See Col. 3:12) to me, a common thread in all of these qualities is a sort of quiet inner strength.  We may be tempted to see gentleness as meek, but it is not.  Both God the Father and Jesus are described as gentle, but they are not weak by any stretch.  But they are strong in a controlled way.

To Elijah, God appeared not in a fire or an earthquake, but in a gentle wind.  I Kings 19:12.  Jesus came into Jerusalem "gentle and riding on a donkey." He also id to His disciples (and to us), "Take my yolk upon you and lean from me, for I am gentle and humble in heat and you will find rest for your souls." If we are to be like God, like Jesus, we need to foster a gentle spirit within ourselves.

Gentleness is controlled strength in our inner being. It is the internal ability to control our speech and actions.  (Prov. 15:1, 25:15; Eph. 4:2; I Pet. 3:15) It is what gives us the ability to be kind, compassionate, merciful, and humble.

How do you all (if anyone is still reading this!) think of gentleness.  What comes to mind? How do you practice gentleness?  In the next entry, I'll try to flesh out a little more how we can train ourselves in gentleness in some practical ways...