“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
“Each one should look not to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:3-5
Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Today we take a look at Gentleness, which is best translated as humility and having an attitude towards others in keeping with the denial of self.
Gentleness/humility is used in the New Testament in two related senses – firstly, in submissiveness to the divine will of God:
“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” (James 1:21) Secondly, the word gentleness is used for politeness and good manners: “By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you…” (2 Corinthians 10:1) It speaks of someone who is not easily provoked and when they are provoked, can soon calm themselves down. The Hebrew word for gentleness is anva; it also means meekness.
The opposite of gentleness/humility is arrogance and pride. It is someone with a sense of contempt and scornful superiority. God’s words to Saul through the prophet Samuel were, “When you were little in your own eyes…did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?” (1 Samuel 15:17)
Someone once said, “Gentleness or humility is not so much what you do or don’t do, it’s more a matter of who you are, and it is in knowing that without God you can do nothing.” Someone else said, “False humility doesn’t fool anyone, any more than if we tried to tie fruit onto a tree and expected people to believe it was growing there. So, those who tried to convince others that they are humble cannot sustain the image the true person of gentle humility will consistently portray an attitude of service and humility.”
It is only as we yield ourselves more and more to the Lordship of Christ that His Holy Spirit can develop this Godly trait of gentleness/humility in our lives, for surely we can see this demonstrated in the life and character of Him who calls us.
A Prayer: Father God, help me to submit my life and character to your perfect will and enable me, by your Holy Spirit, to be polite, gentle and friendly to all the people in my life. Amen.