Skip to main content

Kindness and Gentleness


         Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (II Timothy 2:22-26)

          I’m tempted to hide behind the couch again. Oh, I’ve no more problems than most people with pursuing righteousness faith, and love along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. At least, that’s what I tell myself. But pursuing peace? In a good moment, I might, but most of the time, my automatic reaction to “peace” is “dead.” I tend to see peace as when everything is flowing smoothly – no emotional ups or downs. That means peace is “flatlining.” And it can feel that way.
          Don’t kid yourself, you probably have the same reaction. Why do you read a romance novel, go to a sporting event, watch a scary movie, etc.? It’s so that you feel something. It’s so you’re no longer emotionally flat-lining, not so that you have peace.
We’re to be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful, and gentle with everyone. Here, I feel the need to argue, not with Paul, but with the world. What does it mean to be kind? What does it mean to gently instruct? A meme and a picture come to mind.
         The meme simply says that “kindness is loaning someone your strength instead of reminding them of their weakness.” I don’t quite agree with this, because “loaning” something means that one has a right to expect it to be returned, possibly with interest. Still, the idea works because the word loaning makes it clear that the recipient isn’t free to do with it what he/she wants, and it’s a short term thing. You can lend sixteen people your strength without running out.
          The picture is of a little boy crouching down, looking up at a large draft horse. One strike with a hoof and the kid would be dead, but he isn’t afraid. The horse is gentle because it is not using its strength against the boy. The horse would be equally gentle if it were pulling a wagon with all of its might. Gentleness isn’t the absence of power, but a choice to not use it against someone.
          Paul seems to be talking about two uses of strength. He says we are to use our strength on behalf of or for the benefit of others but not to use it against them. The other thought that comes to mind that both kindness and gentleness involve not using more strength than is needed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more