Gentleness
13 August, 2014
Gentleness is often an overlooked fruit of the spirit, yet it’s a vital virtue admired in the lives of strong Christian women. In today’s society, women are taught to go after what they desire, be it men, money, or power. Women on television tend to be loud, provocative, and crude, and growing up I had very few role models in the media with concrete morals.
As a naive non-Christian teen, I idolized Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and Beyonce. I admired their bodies and don’t-care attitude, doing my best to copy their personalities. I would watch MTV and VH1 reality shows, laughing at the cat-fights and studying the scandalous clothing styles.
In reality, media and fame is just smoke and mirrors. In God’s Word, women are called to be respectful, and 1 Timothy 2 says women should learn “quietly and submissively, refraining from talking over men.” Paul explains how women of God must practice modesty and decency and to remember that there’s nothing more attractive to a man than a woman with quiet confidence. As the New Living bible shares, “a gentle, modest, loving character gives a light to the face that cannot be duplicated even by the best cosmetics.” Outer beauty is worthless if a woman is obnoxious or cold. Grooming and decoration starts at the heart and works its way outwards.
Practicing composure through turmoil is the key to a gentle spirit. When Abraham’s servant was looking for a wife for his master, he approached a well and found a “very beautiful woman old enough to be married.” After asking her for a drink, she answered elegantly and kindly: “Yes, my lord. Have a drink, and I’ll even draw water for your camels, too,” and she ran back and forth between the well serving the man. He instantly knew she was the right woman because she went above and beyond to serve him.
A pastor from the church I attended during college was recently married, and he said he instantly felt attracted to his now-wife because of her gentle, servant-minded attitude. The first time he met her, she was at an airport asking her father for help with her passport. The fact that she openly asked her father for help as a thirty-year-old woman showed her humble mindset and respect for authority. He said that during their first month of dating, she invited him over to her house for dinner. Although he wanted to help her in the kitchen, she sat him down at the table and stated “sit down and let me serve you.” She enjoyed the idea of serving her man, making him feel comforted and special. He knew her gentle attitude was no act; it was engrained in her character, knowing right away that she was the one he’d been waiting for.
As a single woman of faith, I pray the Lord will shower me with the virtue of gentleness. Through the Lord’s instruction, all Christian women can and should learn to have a gentle spirit through the love of Christ.
