Gentleness

The week of Gentleness brought to mind a few ideas; it reminded me of Kindness and Goodness, so once again I was faced with the dilemma of trying to come at this week from a different angle. I mean, it’s singled out like the other eight Fruits, so obviously there is a reason for that. My problem was figuring out just what that reason was, exactly. So I went back to my mental checklist, going over the similar characteristics, and somehow the term “meek” popped into my head as a synonym. But, stubborn as I am, I pretty much shrugged it off, because that adjective brings to mind one word: weak. And I did not think that you all would take too kindly to me telling you to be weaklings, and it just didn’t seem right.

“The meek shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

But meek was the term that kept showing its face in the pile of Kindness, Goodness, Love, and Patience. So I did a little research and was reminded of the verse above. I still wasn’t getting it. Okaaaaay, so we let ourselves get plowed over and stand down, and that means we’re deserving? That did not seem right (I’ve learned during this challenge to trust my gut and keep digging; I usually discover what I’m looking for). Then I looked up the definition of Gentle. The first few definitions didn’t surprise me much (kind, amiable, moderate, etc.). But then it stated that Gentleness implies being of good birth, honorable, respectable, to ennoble; dignify. All right, I could deal with that. And then it defined Gentle in a way that really threw me: entitled to a coat of arms. Are you trying to tell me that by being meek and Gentle—weak, by my assumption—one is actually embodying strength? Ka-pow! That was my mind being blown. The two seem completely opposite to me, but there it was. Then I looked at this verse again and realized that different translations make it clear that if God’s people are humble and honorable servants, then He will give the earth to them. I don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty hefty promise.

Being Gentle doesn’t mean that you have to by weak or feeble-minded. No. It means embodying a Gentle strength that that will win battles and rule nations—some of the greatest wars are not always fought with brute force. Gentleness also requires you to put your Kindness and Love and Goodness back into practice, but I also think it means that you have to use wisdom to know when to remain silent and when God is calling you to act.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Hey, everyone! Okay, so with school forcing me back into finding my “groove” again and working (babysitting, housekeeping, data entry for the Christian Coalition, etc. Yikes-A-Bee!), I have been a teensy bit busy this past week—hence my lack of a post on my usual Tuesday. Forgive me, loyal followers! But I also decided to start a Fruit of the Spirit Challenge, and so I wanted to wait until Friday so I had the whole week to let my fruit ripen (oh, yes; I intend to produce quite a few fruit puns … Did you get the “produce” joke?). I got the idea when I was writing my “Lend Me Your Ears” post and thought that this might be another fun adventure. Okay, so every Friday for nine weeks I will post about my efforts to practice each one of the Fruits of the Spirit and let you know what I discover. This isn’t so much of a show-and-tell as it is a New Years’ resolution to see if I can improve my outlook on life, exercise more patience and self-control, and, essentially, show more kindness and love to others. I’m also not just going to practice Love or Patience or Kindness for seven days, though: I will do my best to keep these Fruits with me for life and continue to demonstrate them day to day. Easy, right? We’ll find out!

“Faith, Hope, and Love remained. And the greatest of these is Love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

When I decided to start this particular challenge, I didn’t really have to ask myself what Love was. I mean, the definition of Love is pretty obvious, and so I assumed that I was going to start this off with an easy-peezy challenge. Most of you are aware how often I chow down on some humbling pie (or crow; whatever), so you can just add this one to the list. The small bump I ran into—on day 1, I might add—had more to do with how to emulate Love more in my life outside of saying it to family and friends. How could I show more Love? Didn’t I already show it in my actions? Wasn’t it just the same as exhibiting Kindness and Goodness to others? And I really, really did not want to go up to a random person at the store or school and tell them I loved them, so I hoped expressing it more verbally wasn’t what I needed to do. Actually, Day 1 of this little experiment to better myself came and went without any progress being attainted; I spent the entire day trying to figure out the how. By Day 2, I decided I just needed to do something. Period. But what could I do differently?

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

I started off slow—holding the door open for strangers, even if I had to stand there for longer than my patience allowed, and helping my mom with the groceries and dinner without being asked. Then I worked at being more forgiving when people made a mistake or interfered. I tried not to be so easily offended, to be a better listener, come through with my promises, pay attention more, laugh and smile more often with people, and be more sensitive to their needs. One of my biggest issues is that I don’t generally think before I speak, so then I decided to practice holding my tongue more and trying—really trying—to only say positive things. I was very surprised when toward the end of the week, I didn’t have to remind myself to stop and think as often, but sometimes I just knew whether or not it was a positive thing to voice. Now, keep in mind, I am the farthest thing from perfect, so I still slipped-up constantly during the week, but if I recognized it, I did my best to correct it afterwards. Don’t beat yourself up if you try to do this challenge with me and struggle with this part (or every part, if you’re like me), because it’s all about progress and growth; habits don’t change overnight! You gotta keep at it!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son for that whoever believes in Him shall not parish

but have eternal life in heaven.” John 3:16

Hmm. Did you notice some of the things I put into practice to exhibit Love? I didn’t even realize it until yesterday, but to show Love—the first of the Fruits of the Spirit and the most important Commandment—I had to emulate Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control. It almost makes the rest of this challenge null, because we’ve already covered all nine of the Fruits in one week! But I really want to focus on each of these individually, because obviously I learn more when I break it down. I really don’t have anything profound to say about this first week other than my realization that Love is at the center of it all. I also think that this will end up being my most challenging week because it forced me to put all the other qualities into practice, and that was not easy. I feel like Week 1 was preparing me for the following weeks and giving me a sort of “crash course” in what to expect. I don’t know about you, but I am very interested to see what happens between now and next Friday. Stay tuned for Joy!

“The road to true love never did run smooth.” –Shakespeare