Thank you for visiting. We trust that you have enjoyed reading our articles.
Gentleness is Strength
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NIV).
I am blessed to have so many good friends. I enjoy talking with them and spending time with them, but I probably learn the most by watching them. I have seen many of them go through rough patches, but through it all they remain calm. Some people foolishly interpret their gentleness as weakness. These men are gentlemen. They are gentle, men, and very strong. There is no truer form of strength than gentleness.
A common theme throughout Scripture is the need to surround yourself with good people. This is important because we tend to pick up habits and attitudes from those that we are with. Just as “iron sharpens iron” so can dirt dull iron. The Apostle Paul warns us of such “dirt” in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (emphasis added), “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”
When we are with argumentative and rude people, there is a good chance that we will take on those characteristics. For instance, if somebody gets angry with you, you get angry back. If somebody is really miserable and you hang around that person long enough, you get miserable too.
The Bible offers a different way to respond: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). A sign of true strength is when another person raises their voice is to lower yours. When you do that, you’re demonstrating strength under control.
Another word for strength under control is gentleness. Gentleness defuses conflict. It de-escalates anger. A gentle person does not overreact and is not driven by their emotions. A gentle person is showing one of the precious and beautiful Fruits of the Spirit.
The Greek word in the Bible for “gentleness” is the word prautes. Some older English translations of the Bible translate prautes as “meek.” The word “meek” isn’t used much anymore because meek has become a synonym for weak. But gentleness—or prautes—is anything but weak.
In fact, the word prautes was used to refer to a wild stallion that had been tamed. Think about that image. A wild stallion has tremendous brute strength but can be dangerous and unpredictable. But if you tame that stallion, it’s still just as strong, but the strength is brought under control. The strength is bottled up for the master’s use.
When you learn true gentleness, you don’t become weak. You just bring your strength under God’s control and use it for His purposes.
Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for the teaching of Proverbs 15:1. Help us to tap into the strength of your Spirit to respond to rudeness with kindness. Amen.
Meet the Author
Todd Shupe is a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men and is in training to be a Certified Lay Minister through the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the President of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men and is a Board Member for Gulf South Men and serves on the Action Team for The Kingdom Group. He is a volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, and Iron Sharpens Iron. Todd resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
We welcome your comments below.
Liked this post?
Read more below or search for more topics...
-
In Search of Wisdom
In Search of Wisdom “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10 NIV). If you are reading this, you are older today than you were yesterday. However, just because we are older does not necessarily make us wiser. Not everyone grows wise with age, but everyone does grow old with age. It is important to note that we should all show respect to our elders, regardless of their level of wisdom.However, I think society tends to confuse wisdom with age. However, a person can be old and not necessarily be very wise. Education is fine... -
Dealing With Your Own Judas
Dealing With Your Own Judas “but Jesus asked him, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’" (Luke 22:48 NIV).Perhaps one of the most memorable stories of the New Testament is the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. Jesus was also denied three times by Peter. In fact, all the disciples fled for their own safety after Christ was arrested. We know as humans that others will disappoint us and we will surely disappoint them. We also know that as Christian we are called to forgiveness. However, betrayal takes on a whole new meaning when the person that... -
Can Prisoners Be Free?
Can Prisoners Be Free? “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV). Perhaps the greatest benefit that we have as American citizens is our civil rights and liberties as identified in the Bill of Rights. We enjoy the freedom of speech, assembly, due process of law, etc. The early Israelites were required to follow 613 Commandments from God as provided to Moses. The Mosaic Law begins with the Ten Commandments and includes the many rules of religious observance given in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, called the...