Prophet’s Reading Plan: Jeremiah 10-12
And the fruit of the Spirit is… gentleness…
Proverbs 15:1 (NIV) A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh
word stirs up anger.
Kindness
is communicated much through words and goodness through acts of generosity.
Gentleness is evident through a disposition and an inner spirit, but also
through tone of voice. There are a lot of angry people in the world, and as the
saying goes, “hurt people hurt people.” Yet it is so easy to judge those who
come across angry. The waitress who seems as though she’d rather pull out her
fingernails than take your order, the grocery clerk who is annoyed when you
decide you don’t actually want to buy that can of corn, the government worker
who decides that you and your van full of kids are the lucky ones who need to
be randomly searched at border crossing – these are the people we are quick to
make a snide comment about after the ordeal is over. But is this how God would
have us respond?
When
we can speak gently and kindly to those who seem angry and annoyed, we often
will notice that our gentleness and care changes their disposition – all they
needed was someone to show them that they are a valuable individual. But what
about those times after the waitress
has walked away or when we’re rolling our cart to the car or once we’ve gotten
through the border? We’re often quick to make jokes and inwardly curse the person
with the bad attitude. Scripture tells us that a gentle answer turns away wrath; perhaps this is true even when
the moment is over. Perhaps God is also telling us that a
gentle response turns away His wrath. He holds us accountable for
the things we say, even if it is out of earshot of the one we’re talking about.
PRAYER AND
MEDITATION
1. Think
about your tone of voice. Is it friendly, warm and inviting? Or is it
demeaning, condemning and impatient? Confess things in your tone that reveal a
lack of gentleness and ask God to work your heart like dough, kneading you into
a gentle disposition.
2.
Is there someone you know you will be in contact with
today that is very hard for you to treat gently? Ask God now already to soften
your heart and your tone when speaking to them.
3.
Ask God for a heads up to what you might face today. What
response does He want from you when you meet angry people?
