"Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath held me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me that my feet did not slip."
- Psalm 18: 35-36
The Greek word for gentleness is CHRESTOTES. It means to be kind, gracious, or to be benign. In other words, it is a mild sort of temperament that does not threaten to harm the health or life of anyone. When something is detected as an abnormal growth in your body, and the doctors tell you it is benign, their diagnosis means that there is no harm involved-the abnormality carries no significant effect. The fruit of gentleness has that same sense of harmlessness. The very idea of being gentle or kind describes the tenderness and thoughtfulness of love. Since it is a fruit of the Spirit, the sense of our being thoughtful really represents having God's thoughts toward someone. Jeremiah wrote, "For I know the thoughts that I have toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end" (Jer. 29:11). Several different translations of the Bible read: "...to give you a hope and a future." The love of God always thinks the best. It always has someone's best interest at heart. In First Corinthians thirteen, verse seven and eight (in what we call the love chapter), Paul said, "Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Love never fails never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end" (Amplified Bible).
One of the wonderful attributes of the fruit of gentleness is its care and concern for people, and how they are treated. Paul wrote to the church of Thessalonica, and said, "But we were gentle among you even as a nurse cherisheth her children: so being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us" (1 Thess. 2:7-8). Notice his thoughts of gentleness were as a nursing mother who tenderly and thoughtfully cares for her child.
We are living in a very harsh world. It has become more and more insensitive toward acts of kindness. I remember growing up when it was not uncommon to wave at a stranger, to prefer someone else over your own self, or to do good just because it was the right thing to do, and not just to get something out of it. In today's society, suspicion and distrust looms over most folk's minds. There is a hardness that has captured a large percentage of people's thinking. In so many places now, the welfare and regard for others is someone else's concern. A person could be attacked on a street corner, and the average citizen looks away and thinks, "I'm just glad it wasn't me!" disregarding really any real concern for the person being injured!
Jesus said, one of the signs of the end would be, "...the love of many shall wax cold" (Matt. 24:12). Being gentle and kind is a spiritual attribute that if we are not mindful of the need for it, it will slowly dissipate and disappear. As God's people, we must not let this happen. We owe it to ourselves, and to our fellow man, to give attention to the fruit of gentleness. If we lose this virtue to the rapid changing world around us, our lives will become, not only desensitized but demoralized. Our indifferences will become our own demise.
The prophet Isaiah once said, "Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow." (Isa. 1:18). The fruit of Gentleness has a heavenly scent. It is perfumed with the sweet fragrance of reasonableness. It stretches out with forbearance and forgiveness to all that seems contrary to human nature. It doesn't stand on its watch as a judge! It seeks to nurture the innocent and comfort the desolate.
If you go back and study the gospels, you will find that Jesus always cared for the down-an-outer. He sympathized with their needs. He was gracious in reaching out to them, to touch them, to heal them, and to pour hope into them. Everywhere he went, he was moved with compassion. Think how different this world could be if folks were given over to this kind of spirit? Paul wrote to the church of Ephesus, and said, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:29-32).
The next time you find yourself tempted to be indifferent or judgmental, remember the words of the apostle Paul: "...whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Phil. 4:8).
