Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

(ESV)

Proverbs 15:4 reminds us that gentle speech is a tree of life as opposed to a perverse or wicked tongue which breaks the spirit.  When believers confront a person caught in a transgression we are to restore them in a spirit of gentleness with a warning to guard our own hearts against not falling into temptation ourselves (Galatians 6:1).  1 Peter 3:4 encourages us to adorn ourselves with a gentle and quiet spirit, something very precious in the sight of God.  Granted this passage is in the context of how a woman is to adorn herself, I believe there is also a spiritual context urging everyone to pay more attention the fruits of the spirit emanating from a heart in tune with God than outward appearances. 

The Greek word translated gentle in Galatians 5:23 is crhstothj which in addition to gentle carries the meaning of usefulness i.e. moral excellence in character and demeanor, goodness, and kindness.  (1)  This expansion of the meaning of gentleness serves to stress even more the need for the fruit of the spirit of gentleness in our world today.  The world needs to see God’s people showing,

1)      Usefulness of moral character and demeanor - With the tsunami of moral improprieties dominating our world and media today, there has never been a greater need for useful men and women showing moral excellence in character and demeanor. 

2)      Goodness in a rude divisive culture – I have previously written about the increase in rude behavior in our society.  Acts of gentleness stand in opposition to rude behavior and serve to remind us of the sweet taste of the fruit of gentleness.  I encourage everyone reading this to go out of their way to smile, say thank you, and excuse me during this Christmas season.  I also encourage everyone to hold a door for someone, smile at cashiers and store clerks. 

3)      Kindness of behavior – In a world and media filled with wicked perverse speech, the words of Proverbs 15:4 remind us to counter this speech with gentle kind words of speech bringing life to others.  During this busy Christmas season, people notice our gentle words of kindness but why only speak in this manner during Christmas and not all year. 

One area in major need of gentleness is social media.  It appears that even the gentlest and kindest person can turn vicious and even perverse behind the anonymity of the keyboard.  This is especially difficult when someone we believe is a friend replies to us in a perverse and evil manner over social media.  While our first response is to lash out in an equally rude and perverse manner, I encourage my readers to instead reply in a gentle manner, even if it is only letting them know we will pray for them. 

Political discourse could definitely use a dose of the fruit of gentleness.  Despite continuous attacks, the Trump Presidency has been effective with a burgeoning stock market, debt has decreased $100 billion as opposed to an increase in debt of $560 billion in the first three months the Obama Presidency.  In addition, there has been an addition of 298,000 jobs, NATO has reported an increase of $10 billion in allied spending, and the addition of an originalist justice the U.S. Supreme Court.  (2) 

In addition, New evidence shows that the dossier, supposedly providing evidence of collusion between candidate Trump and the Russians rigging the 2016 election is a fictional piece of opposition research funded by opposition to the Trump Campaign.  This revelation of fake evidence demonstrates the purpose of the hateful speech in media and government against the duly elected President is nothing more than lying perverse speech with the goal of taking down the President.  We no longer work our political disagreements out in a gentle manner perpetuating divisiveness in the nation and culture instead of teaming up to solve genuine problems in society. 

We need a return to gentle behavior and speech in our culture, on social media, and in our political discourse.  While we as individuals may not have the power and influence to affect a return to gentleness in our world, we can begin to bear this delicious fruit in our sphere of influence by acts of gentleness in public all year long and not just during Christmas.  We can stand out in social media by being gentle in our speech by not believing the anonymity of the keyboard gives justification for using perverse speech.  When engaging in political speech, we should avoid course confrontational and combative political discourse and instead encourage those disagreeing with us to engage in gentle political debate.  If the other party refuses to engage in a gentle manner, leave letting them know this is not the manner you believe civilized people work out their political differences. 

Next Wednesday we will look at the spirit of self-control and see how that spirit provides a catalyst for the growth of the other fruits of the Spirit. 

1. Godrules.net. Crhstothj. www.godrules.net. [Online] Godrules. [Cited: November 26, 2017.] http://www.godrules.net/library/strongs2b/gre5544.htm.

2. Roger Stone News. DESPITE CONTINUOUS ATTACKS, TRUMP GETTING THE JOB DONE. www.stonecoldtruth.com. [Online] Stonecoldtruth, July 5, 2017. [Cited: November 26, 2017.] https://stonecoldtruth.com/despite-continuous-attacks-trump-getting-the-job-done/.