Fruit of gentleness
The Fruit of Gentleness
Bristol Road Baptist Church 15/7/07 PM
Gentleness is not a popular word. Life characteristics in the modern world are much more about “self assertiveness” and “empowerment”. Gentleness is often seen as wimpy, meekness and weakness, something to be shunned. Take the example of the book: Rhinoceros Success. The basic message is that we should charge at life:
The secret of success is, naturally, becoming a rhinoceros. In fact, my wish for you is that you wake up tomorrow morning as a full grown, six thousand pound rhinoceros.[1]
.
One reader writes how their life was changed…
“I learned that we can be cows standing in a pasture waiting for something to happen OR we can be rhinos charging through the jungle of life; the choice is ours.
Being a rhino does not come naturally to me, so I am always on the lookout for rhino items to remind me to CHARGE!!!! When I am on the Internet, I look for rhino pictures that I can download and use on my computer as reminders; I also have quite a few pieces of rhino clothing, jewellery, figurines …[2]
Gentleness is not popular. But it is the fruit of the Spirit. As we have found every week in our series, what the Spirit produces in us is naturally the character of God. In the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, which we often think of at Easter, we read,
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Jesus came on a donkey not a majestic horse kings would ride on (or on a rhino!) He came in gentleness not self aggrandizement. There is an interesting link there, because the New Testament use of the word “gentleness” was also a word used in secular Greek for, amongst other things, the taming of wild animals, just like a wild horse. So gentleness is not at all weakness, but power under control.
I often think a modern example of this is something like motorcycles. You sometimes see youngsters on their 50cc bikes at 16, making a din at the traffic lights waiting to “roar” off. But a police officer on a force motorcycle has masses more power but cruises along with elegance and dignity. Power under control rather than on display. That’s what biblical gentleness is. Not weakness, but true power under control.
Jesus said the meek will inherit the earth. (Meek here has the same semantic root word as gentleness) Power and authority will be given them, so they don’t have to put on some apparent display like a strutting cockerel. It’s another aspect to God’s great reversal of power. As has been said, “if the meek will inherit the earth, what’s going to happen to all us tigers?”!
So gentleness is a sign that a Christian is secure in God. That of course begs the question why some Christians don’t seem to be very gentle but judgemental, forceful, domineering even to non-Christians.
I read of a Christian boxer, who when fighting his opponent brought him to the deck, and then, to quote,
I could see his eyes go glassy as he fell back, and I knew if he got up again it wouldn’t do him any good. I just hit him and the Lord did the rest”[3]
That sounds sick enough, but actually there are Christians who seem to think that God’s way is one of aggression, over confidence and hit people where it hurts.
Remember when people brought a woman caught in the act of adultery to Jesus? They adopted the “Let the Lord hit ’em” approach. Sort her out! Well Jesus did. But not their way. He got rid of them and then spoke to her gently. He wasn’t weak. He told her to change her ways. But with gentleness. Controlled power. That’s what the Spirit works in us. And recall again this is the fruit of the Spirit – the natural produce of the work of the Spirit in every believer. This is what God calls us to.
The well known scholar William Barclay suggests there are three aspects to the word gentleness in the New Testament: [4]
- Submission to the will of God (Matt 5:5; 11:29 “take my yoke…I am gentle”)
- Being teachable, not too proud to learn (James 1:21 “man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires….humbly accept the word planted in you”)
- Consideration of others. ….
Other occurrences of “gentleness” in NT writings:
- As a Christian generally (various)
- To rulers and authority (Titus 3:1-2. Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no-one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility towards all men.)
- Church leaders offering instruction (1 Cor 4:21 What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?; 2 Tim 2:25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth)
- Dealing with those “caught in a sin” (Gal 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.)
- In church life (Eph 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.)
- With those who slander you (1 Pet 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect)
- The result of wise living (James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom)
With the exception of “wise living” all these occurrences relate to consideration of other people. In all these situations there was the possibility of acting otherwise. Rulers and authorities are not looked upon with gentleness! Politicians are often treated with suspicion. Imagine being one, and doing your surgery. Everyone’s come to moan and complain. Would your MP see a gentleness of Spirit if you went to see him/her. We are called by scripture to pray for them and respect them under God.
What about church leaders. Paul says he’s come to the Corinthians with gentleness. He elsewhere says he’s opened up his heart to them, but they haven’t to him. They were quite disdainful of him. They weren’t displaying the fruit of the Spirit. And church life generally is not always filled with gentleness. Proverbs 15:1 says, A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
And finally there with non Christians in 1 Peter 3:15:
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…
Sometimes as Christians we can feel as though we are more like parliamentarians. Defend your corner and oppose the opposition! Evangelism then becomes a tennis match. So if someone says “If God’s supposed to be loving how come he lets little children die” we can either take that as an “issue” and talk about sin and justice and mortality or we can say “tell me more”, ask about their pain and sadness, relate to them and even say “I don’t always know why God allows some things to happen.” One is akin to the teenager on the bike, a show of “authority”, the other like the gentle taming of the power of the gospel. Interestingly Peter says “be ready to give an answer…” That presupposes their question, their issue, not your statement.
Despite where we started, in a world that wants to make each of us into a rhinoceros, people want to see gentleness not arrogance, integrity, care, support not anger. We have a great opportunity to shine in the world. The fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of gentleness.
----
[1] Scott Alexander, Rhinoceros Success, Rhino’s Press 1980 p11, Cited in D Aycock, Living by the Fruit of the Spirit p115
[2] Taken from a website.
[3] Floyd Patterson, cited in D Aycock, Living by the fruit of the Spirit p116
[4] Daily Study Bible: Galatians and Ephesians, St Andrews Press, Revised edition 1976 p51-52