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Gentle

Human power under human control is a half-broken weapon in the hands of a child. But gentleness places my strength under God’s guidance; it is a powerful tool for God’s kingdom.

God wants me to give Him control of my life. Relying on my own logic, I have no impetus to submit to God’s ownership of my life. I don’t want to be His slave. With the wisdom given to me by the Holy Spirit, however, I begin to see why I should completely submit to God as Master (owner) of my life.

Can I be gentle in caring for the weak?  Every person is powerful. I can speak words that influence others; I can act in ways that help or hurt; and I can choose what influences will inform my words and actions. Gentleness constrains and channels that power. To be gentle is to recognize that God’s ways and thoughts are high above my own (Isaiah 55:9). It is to humbly realize that my worldview is shaped by exposure to missing God’s goal  (sin) and the misinterpretation of experience. It is to accept God’s worldview, reflecting truth about the spiritual and the material worlds.

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:14 — We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
  • Isaiah 40:11  — Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
  • Acts 20:35  — “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Master Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
  • 1 Kings 19:12  — After the earthquake a fire, but the Master was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.