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Galatians 5:22-23
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.
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October 22 Fruit of
the Spirit - Gentleness
Gentleness is one of the more easily
understood fruit of the Spirit. Easy to
understand and easy to do are not the same
however.
Proverbs 15:1 tells us, "A gentle answer
turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up
anger." Gentleness is more than simply not
being violent. We can be abusive in our
speech and harsh in the way we talk to other
people.
Jesus told us that the meek would inherit the
earth. Being gentle and meek does not mean
that we are pushovers. There are times
that we should stand our ground and fight for
what is right.
But gentleness does not go looking for
trouble. Gentle people seek to diffuse a
situation instead of escalate it. Gentle
words can help calm an otherwise difficult
situation.
Gentleness is learned just like anything
else, with practice. Before responding to
a situation that would ordinarily cause an
ungentle response, count to ten. Before
long, it will be natural to respond gently
without having to go through a cooling off
period first. |
