The Wisdom of Gentleness
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December 15, 2013 |
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 "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy" (James 3:17).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
If we have cast off selfish desires and act in the Word of God, the truth, we can receive heavenly wisdom and feel more comfortable spiritually. We can easily discern what is right, and it won't be difficult to practice goodness toward others. Even though we may suffer loss at the moment, we believe God will repay us with a greater blessing. Even if He does not, we will feel happier practicing the truth.
Such people can receive blessings by practicing what is pleasing to God. They can clearly see the way of the truth and give clear answers to other people's problems. This is the fruit gained through the wisdom of gentleness. Then, what should we do to receive the wisdom of gentleness?
1. The spiritual meaning of gentleness
An accepted definition of 'to be gentle' is 'to be considerate or kindly in disposition; amiable and tender.' When a person has abundant truth in his heart and at the same time has the freedom of the truth, he can give away all that he has. This entails the spiritual meaning of 'gentleness'.
The person can give up not only material things, but also his time, efforts, interests, service, and even his life. To be able to give up oneself completely, a person must be filled with the truth in his heart completely and have no selfishness. Jesus is the best role-model of giving up everything with the heart of abundant truth. Jesus is the Son of God and He had no sin or blemish. His heart is truth itself. He lived only by the will of God and offered up His everything.
Going without eating or resting, He preached the gospel of the kingdom of heaven and healed the sick. He toiled so much and shed so many tears and finally offered up even His life for the souls. He had no sin or blemish, but He was crucified to save the sinners who were destined to go to the eternal death. With His deeds He saved countless souls and guided them to the heavenly kingdom.
Now, compared with His deeds, how do we act? Can we willingly accept and take up losses for others? Can we give away what we have? If we seek our own benefits, our own tastes, pride, opinions, and so on, we cannot give up our 'self.'
2. The blessings received through the wisdom of gentleness
In this world it is said that it is not wise to give up your things for others. If one is given, they want to receive more. They think keeping what they have got is wisdom. But Acts 20:35 says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
When we give and share in the name of the Lord, we will receive greater blessings from God. This is true wisdom. When we give more than what we were expected to give and sincerely serve others, we won't suffer any loss. We will gain the hearts of people, and this cannot be compared to a little bit of profit at the moment. It was the fruit of wisdom coming from a gentle heart.
As long as they have selfishness, anger, and greed in them, they cannot show abundant gentleness. That is why the meaning of gentleness is not just giving up one's everything. But also the truth has to dwell abundantly in one's heart first, and in that truth that person has to be able to give up his everything.
In Genesis 13, when Abram and Lot received blessings from God and when their livestock were many, their shepherds had quarrels because they had to feed and water their herds on land with limited resources. So, in Genesis 13:9, he said to Lot, "Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left."
Then, Lot, seeking his own benefit, just chose the better land that had enough water. If Lot had heard that there were quarrels among the servants, he should have sternly warned his servants so that such news would not be heard by his uncle, Abram. But Abram didn't have any kind of discomfort towards Lot. Even when Lot left without knowing the grace he had received from him, Abram had so much gentleness of heart that he was able to give up everything and even more, if the other person wanted it.
But Abram didn't suffer any loss at all just because he conceded in Lot's favor. Rather, he received much greater blessings than what he had given up. Since Abram showed goodness, God promised him that He would give all the lands in north, south, east, and west, and also give him countless descendants. Because Abraham showed overflowing gentleness and acted with much more goodness than what was required of him, he received great blessings from God.
3. Freedom of truth coming from gentleness
John 8:32 says, "...and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." To those who are not living by the truth, the truth may feel like shackles. But, to those who know the truth and completely act by it, they feel free within the truth.
For example, when you commit a crime and are on the run from the law, unexpectedly seeing a policeman would startle you. But those who keep the law very well have no such feelings when they see a policeman. But rather they feel more secure with the police around. Those who are living in the truth know that the Law of God is the love of God and it is the passageway to blessings. So, they don't have any fear.
For example, if you do not have the faith to keep the Sabbath completely, you feel the words that tell you not to conduct business or not to participate in worldly entertainment on the Sabbath are like shackles. But those who truly keep the Sabbath from the depth of their hearts know that by keeping the Lord's Day they recognize the spiritual sovereignty of God, and so that they have peace and receive blessings. So, we feel very free to know the truth and live by the truth.
For another example, if we cast off hatred, then, we feel so burden-free and happy. The truth sets us free from the yoke of sin and it frees us from the burdens of sin. If our heart is filled with the truth, we can also extend that freedom to others. We don't judge or condemn others just because they are not living by the truth, but instead we encourage them and strengthen them so they can live by the truth.
'To be filled with the truth in our hearts' is not just to know what truth is by our knowledge alone. The latter part of 1 Corinthians 8:1 says, "…knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies." If we know the truth only as knowledge, it means we know very little, and yet we may become arrogant thinking that we know everything. For example, when those who understand the truth only as knowledge observe another person who wants to be served, they may soon judge and condemn him. They may think, "He sure thinks he is important," but they themselves do not realize that they are violating the truth telling us not to judge any of our brothers.
On the other hand, those who have truth in the heart will look at that person with the viewpoint of his measure of faith. They can discern the right and wrong with the Word, but even when they see the untruth from others, they can still accept them and cover their faults with love. Because they received compassion of God when they had many shortcomings, they also show compassion to others.
Those who have gentleness in their hearts do not hurt the feelings of others. Even though someone acts with evilness, they do not judge, condemn, or maltreat him. But rather, they will lead him to the truth considering him as a precious soul. When you have this kind of a heart, you will gain the wisdom to lead others to life. This is the wisdom gained from gentleness.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when we are filled with the truth and achieve gentleness, we will be full of God's abundant love. We will neither spare giving things to others nor feel jealous and envious of others' doing well. We can help others so that they can do better and we can even give our own possessions to them so they can enjoy more.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will gain the wisdom of gentleness, realize that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and enjoy freedom of the truth.
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