Building Character- Gentleness
Gentleness….also referred to as meekness, comes from the word praotes in the Greek. It is described as a disposition that is EVEN TEMPERED, TRANQUIL, BALANCED in Spirit, UNPRETENTIOUS, and that has the passions UNDER CONTROL. Now let’s make sure and understand this word meekness, or gentleness as referred to in the New King James, is not indicating weakness, but actually is indicating power and strength under control! Whew…. now that’s a whole lot more intense than the simple word gentleness implies! So we ask ourselves how do we get these very important Godly qualities embedded into our children? How do we “train up our children” to be even tempered, to be balanced, to be tranquil, to keep their passions under control? Well let’s go back to all the teachings that we’ve talked about concerning the fruit of the spirit… Remember all eyes are on you as the parents or grandparents. How are we conducting ourselves within our home in response to conflict, in response to selflessness? Do your children witness an even temper, kindness, a spirit of control, gentle manners? Or do they witness flared tempers, a parent that struggles with control, or my favorite that I’m sure my children STILL hear in their dreams…. HARSH TONES OF VOICE!!!! Parents….the foundation is BUILT IN THE HOME!! Our Christian conduct that should be emulating from our lives should reflect HIM! Now, if you think you can just “decide” to control your temper or “decide” to stay balanced….well, I have bad news for you….you may be able to muscle through it for awhile, but we will always crash and burn without the grace of God. Our children’s character depends on us! What we reflect….they reflect! What we say, they say! What we do, they do! Do they see you snap at the check out girl because it took too long? Do they see you snap at your spouse rather respond in a gentle response? Do you let things roll off you, do they hear you OWN your faults? This fruit, I believe strongly speaks volumes to others around us! So in training up our children we must master our Lords character! Remember the more we are with our Lord and Savior the more we resemble HIM!!!
