A Gentle and Quiet Spirit is of Great Worth in God's Sight
Cultivating gentleness in a harsh world
Welcome to Cruthú Nua!
In the last article, we talked about persevering in doing good. I hope you had a good time practicing that. :) Goodness is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and so cultivating this is part of the new life in Christ.
This post will be looking at another fruit of the spirit - yes you guessed it, Gentleness.
Gentleness is not a virtue that is often admired, let alone pursued. Rarely do you hear of anyone praying for a quiet, gentle spirit.
Gentleness (or meekness) is generally misunderstood and undervalued.
In our modern culture, gentleness is perceived as weak, but gentleness is far from weak. It is in fact, strength.
What is Gentleness?
Gentleness is also referred to as meekness or humility. We only have to look to the gospels to see gentleness lived out in Jesus Himself—our best role model.
He is meek and lowly in heart and even calls Himself that in Matthew 11:29
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
—Matt. 11:28-30
Meekness is submission to God and your fellow man
In the scripture above, Jesus said, learn from me… (Matthew 11:29). We learn how to become meek by getting to know Jesus, by binding ourselves to Him.
Jesus submitted to the Father’s will, to save humanity, to the point of death on a cross.
“Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross.”— Philippians 2:6-8
Jesus’ meekness is demonstrated in many ways in the Bible. We often see Him as a servant. He is compassionate, humble, and tender-hearted.
In the 42nd chapter of the book of Isaiah, God describes Jesus as so kind and gentle that he wouldn’t dismiss or discard even the weakest, most downtrodden person in the world. No one is insignificant in His eyes. It says, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.”
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”—Isaiah 42:1-4
Moses was considered one of the meekest men in the Bible. His calling was not an easy one, leading the ungrateful, complaining Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses besought God to show them mercy, even though they had reviled him many times.
Meekness defined
Meekness is power under control.
A meek person chooses to restrain himself in obedience to God.
What is it that brings us into submission?
It’s not easy to be humble, we all like to have our own way. For some, gentleness is something they avoid at all costs, and even criticize those who are meek.
We all start on the spiritual path stubborn and proud.
We can even be uncontrollable and unrestrained, like a wild horse. We don’t want to be broken, or tamed.
This resistance in our inner man is described perfectly in Psalm 32:9 where it writes:
“Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.”
It means don’t be like a wild horse who is no good for anything, bucking and fighting, yet at the same time, don’t be stubborn like the mule who won’t move.
It’s really only possible to submit to God and become meek through the Holy Spirit because we can’t do it on our own.
So, where do we begin?
Putting off the old man
Put Off The Old Man and clothe yourselves in righteousness. The old man is what’s known as our old sin nature in the Bible. It was who we were before salvation.
The old man is that self-absorbed self that is steeped in self-interest and self-focus, with strong lustful desires. It is the part of us that needs regeneration because of the Fall of Man (Adam & Eve).
..to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
—Ephesians 4:22-24
Be transformed
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”
—Ephesians 4:31
Clothe yourselves in meekness (humility)
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
—Colossians 3:12
We have an essential role in bringing peace to our environments.
We need to be able to keep our peace around others. There is a lot of advice in the Bible on how to avoid stirring up strife among others.
The Bible warns us not to befriend “hot-tempered” people for fear that we will become like them, but we will still have to have a calm answer for them if they are in our workplace or even our family.
They should be avoided, but if you do however encounter an angry person, stay calm and gentle. This is your weapon against their wrath, for meekness triumphs over wickedness.
“Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people,
or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul.”
—Proverbs 22:24-25
What does the Bible say we should do to cultivate gentleness?
Do not speak evil of anyone
Avoid quarreling
Do not befriend hot-tempered people
Give a soft answer to anyone who stirs up your anger
Be humble
Don’t think too highly of ourselves
Be compassionate
Be kind
Be patient
Have a soft heart
Pray without ceasing
Walk in the Spirit
Use gracious words
Delight in the Lord
Pursue holiness
Be considerate towards others
Be quiet - listen more than you speak
Live like a servant to all
Have a teachable spirit
Have a repentant heart
Be generous
Be fair
Show mercy
Forgive others
Be flexible (not rigid)
Be calm - don’t fret!
Be faithful
Listen and obey God
There will be times when it will be most difficult to be gentle and humble in heart.
For example, how do you react when you are….
Provoked
Insulted
Betrayed
Opposed
It’s not easy. It injures us, and it hurts. What is the first thing you want to do when these things happen? Probably to RETALIATE!
But, we know from experience that these people take pleasure in hurting others, they are wicked.
What did Jesus do?
“When they hurled their insults at him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.”
The Bible tells us never to take revenge as God says, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” (Deuteronomy 32:35. Romans 12:19).
God deals with all sin. Any wrong that has been done to you in your life will be judged by God Himself, who is a just judge.
No sin goes unpunished. Leave it to God for He will do a better job of it than us.
The best thing we can do is to work on our healing and forgive those who’ve hurt us.
And finally, be considerate to all people. Practice gentleness with everyone where it is possible. Be mindful of this as you go about your day so you won’t be taken by surprise if someone is rude or arrogant towards you.
Be ready to respond with a kind word or a soft smile. :)
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
—Proverbs 15:1
Living as children of God with a gentle and quiet spirit
To live like this is of great worth in God’s sight. It is pleasing to Him when His children are gentle in heart.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
—Matthew 5:5
To inherit the earth means you will have peace with God and in your own heart, but better still, the meek and gentle in spirit will reign with Christ in His kingdom, in eternity.
Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter!
Feel free to leave a comment below.
Blessings!