It is so very easy to find a reason not to be gentle. Whether it is within the family, in a debate at church, or in a forum online, most of us are experts at justifying unkind words.
In the face of, what seems to us, others’ unwise, unmeasured, ungodly or simply unthought-through comments, we may quickly default to snapping, lashing out, responding tersely, or putting others down. At times, we may regret our lack of gentleness but, more often, we reassure ourselves that our response was appropriate. After all, some people really do say (or write) the most unhelpful things.
Most of us are aware of the Biblical call to be gentle. It is a component of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 6:22); we are called to be completely humble and gentle with one another (Eph.4:2); our gentleness is meant to be evident to all (Phil.4:5). But, in the pressures of day-to-day living, we find it more natural, more convenient and more expedient to set gentleness aside.
