MAY 17, 2 Timothy 2:24

“The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men.” The word “gentle” means kind. The fifth characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. This good quality of gentleness means being kind to others. You like other people to speak nicely to you, and not treat you roughly. Therefore, you should do the same to them.

Dear reader, it is not just the use of the magic words “please”, “thank you”, and “sorry”. What we are talking about is a change in our hearts, not merely a change in our speech. What God wants in us is a change in how we think, not just a change in what we say.

To some of you, gentleness may be seen as a weakness. Especially to some boys, they think to be gentle is to be like a “softie”. That is absolutely not true. Being gentle is not being weak. Being gentle is actually great strength, for the person who is gentle knows how to control his strength and channel that to being kind and calm in the face of difficult people or situations.

Is gentleness one of your characteristics?
Tick off the statements that are true of you:
O speak in a nice way to others.
O smile at others.
O treat others in a rough way.
O willing to help others.
O show an angry face.
O speak with a fierce voice.
O be kind to others.

Thought: God’s children are different from other people.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to show gentleness towards others around me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.