Gentleness

I haven’t always been a kind and gentle soul.  There may be those who would argue that I’m still not!  Eight years of teaching alternative school provided me with insight about the value of gentleness.  I’ve also witnessed the value of gentleness when a father was teaching his son or daughter how to hit or catch a ball.  I’ve definitely witnessed some bad outcomes when husbands tried to teach their wives how to play golf without implementing copious amounts of gentleness!

One of my favorite verses in Scripture comes from the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Mt 5.5, ESV, Crossway).  The reason I like the verse so much is because it basically says that nice people WILL finish first!  Contemporary society teaches us that we have to posture and preen a bit to be noticed or get ahead. I’ve been around many leaders whose effectiveness was diminished by their attitudes and by their putting themselves upon pedestals above their co-workers.  I’ve also seen gentle leaders who were quite effective because they never asked people to do anything they wouldn’t do themselves and they led from a position of servant-leadership.

While it is true that some people need a bit more “prodding” than others, being gentle usually results in  more satisfactory results than being aggressive.  In my opinion, meekness and patience are closely related and often depend on each other.  What do you think?