– Showing love and care in a calm way –
Gentleness, which is sometimes called meekness, is not being shy or weak. Truly gentle people have great strength but care for others enough to use it wisely. A great picture of gentleness is someone with great power who has shown great love instead of anger. God is the greatest example of this type of gentleness. He meets you where you are at, stoops down to pick you up, tenderly takes care of your wounds, and carefully nurses you back to health. He does this because He loves you.
How do you treat others? More importantly, how do you treat people who treat you unjustly? Do you lash out in anger? That anger shows that you don’t trust that God is in control and that He can and will take care of you. It also says that you think you should get what you want when you want it. Instead, we should be humble – thinking of others highly – and give grace, trusting God, and respond in gentleness.
“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.“ – Philippians 4:5 (NIV)
Questions
- What are some ways people have been gentle with you? Has God been gentle with you?
- How does it feel when people are gentle towards you?
- Is there anyone in your life that you find it difficult to be gentle with? Why is it difficult?
- What are some ways that you can start being more gentle?
- Who are you going to be gentle with today?
- Why do you think God wants us to be gentle with those around us?
More Discussion Ideas
Alternate Descriptions
- Being tender and mild-mannered towards others
- Showing love instead of anger
- Controlling your power to show care
- Using controlled power to care for others
Activites
Multimedia Resources
Parent Resources
What is Gentleness – Article by GotQuestions.org