…but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 
1 Thessalonians 2:7 

 

Can you remember when you last read a book or heard a sermon on gentleness? Gentleness sounds so much like weakness that we’re tempted to think it’s downright ‘wimpish.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. Listen: ‘Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth’ (Matthew 5:5). Notice: the gentle don’t strive like others, yet they inherit everything. That’s because gentleness, which is first cousin to meekness, is born of love. A love that: 1) refuses to rush to judgment (2) doesn’t drop names or force its way because it has nothing to prove (3) is deeply troubled when the structure, the budget, and the corporate image become more important than the people they are called to serve (4) is grieved when the schedule leaves no time to stop and minister to the young, the old, the infirm, and the hurting. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness. We’re encouraged to get things done and get them done fast, even though people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment and productivity count, but what about the cost? There’s no place for gentleness in such a milieu. That’s why Paul wrote, ‘we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.’ A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. The gentle know that true growth requires nurturing, not force. So let’s dress ourselves with gentleness, for in our tough and unbending world gentleness is a vivid reminder of God’s Presence among us.