I have heard it said before that you
can group the fruits of the spirit into three simple categories. The first
three are more inwardly Godly traits. The second three are things we show to
other people, and the final three are things that are simply good character
traits. Gentleness, the penultimate fruit, definitely falls into the latter category;
it’s just a good thing that will help us get through life easier. We can all be
gentle with things when we feel like it, but that really isn’t true gentleness.
It’s more about getting to the point where we’re naturally gentle all the time,
without even thinking about it. I think what sets a truly gentle person apart
from the rest of us is that they are gentle with everything that it’s good to
be gentle with, rather than just with the very most important things.
Also, don’t get fooled into thinking that
gentle people = soft/weak people; that is an absolute myth. Being gentle
doesn’t mean being weak, it just means not being overly aggressive when we
don’t need to be.
My final thought on this topic is
that we don’t only need to be physically gentle with people and things, but we
need to be gentle when we speak to people as well, especially people who aren’t
confident at that time. If we aren’t gentle when we speak, we are at far
greater risk of causing offense by saying something rash, and then we will
instantly start to lose respect from people, and that can cause arguments and
fall outs. So why not just let go of all the trouble we cause for ourselves by
not being gentle, and instead pray that God will bless us with it instead?
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but
a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs
15:1