“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
Dictionary.com defines gentleness as simply: “not ... violent.” But what about biblical gentleness? Was Paul just talking about not being violent? Though not being violent is a part of gentleness, it does not encompass the full meaning of true, biblical gentleness. No, this gentleness is a kind of gentleness that shines through your speech, that shines through your actions, and shines through your spirit. Practically, though, what does this mean?
- You're gentle in your spirit. We hear of “a spirit of gentleness” a few times in Scripture. In 1 Corinthians 4:21, Paul writes to the Corinthian church, “Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?” When Paul talked about a spirit of gentleness, he meant a spirit (or an attitude or mannerism) that is not harsh. A spirit that is not brash, a spirit that is loving, and a spirit that is soft.
- You're gentle in your speech. Solomon wisely sums this up in Proverbs 15:1, "A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.” You have the power to stir up wrath with your words, or you have the power to be gentle and turn away anger. When strife and anger come a'knocking, what do you do? Do you turn them away with your gentleness, or do you welcome them into your life? Do you stir up wrath with your words? Do you find yourself always arguing or starting frustrating or angering conversations? I know I do sometimes. But we've got to turn away from that, by combating anger with gentle speech.
- You're gentle in your actions. In Titus 3:1-2, Paul writes, “Remind them ... to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Did you catch the “to be gentle”? I don't know how much you know about the English language, but "to be" is a verb, thus "to be gentle" is the act of being gentle. So how do we practice that? By not acting violently, by not acting cruelly or unkindly, by not acting angrily, and by not acting bitterly.
Gentleness is one of those fruits of the Spirit that is often misunderstood, but it's a fruit that is necessary in every Christian's life.
“Blessed are the gentle, because they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5