The world needs a little more gentleness
"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth."
- Mathew 5:5 (WEB)
My friend breathed a sigh of disappointment as he shared with me the encounter he had with his girlfriend at a fast food place.
"They really messed up our order," my friend said. "I was going to go to the counter and take care of it when my friend pushed me aside saying, 'I'll show you how it's done!' Then she marched to the counter and proceeded to scream at the parties involved, causing a scene.
"As she came back to her seat, she showed me the coupons for free food she was awarded, like they were a prize for throwing her weight around."
My friend, being mild mannered, explained to her that he would have handled the situation differently. By adding a touch of kindness he could have gotten the same result, without making a spectacle of himself. By maintaining his self-respect he would have gained more than free food.
We've all had similar experiences when the dinner lines are long, our nerves are frayed, and our order gets mixed up. We're tempted to push our weight around and give someone a piece of our mind.
In our modern day society, we have lost our manners. We think it's heroic to slam someone for making a mistake. Our culture has lost its use for gentleness. We think to be gentle means you're a coward or emotionally weak.
On the contrary, the benefit of gentleness is power. It shows you have control over your negative emotions in a frustrating situation.
Our Lord Jesus was not weak or cowardly; he didn't shrink back from exposing the truth about a situation. Yet, he had the most exceptional impact on society by gently defending himself. He was the more powerful person in every situation.
Gentleness shows we respect ourselves and others. When we choose to live our life with higher values than the norm, in order to be the bigger person, we must display some gentleness along the way.
One of my favorite Bible verses in 1 Peter 2:21 states: "He uttered no threats."
Don't misunderstand. Jesus defended himself, but spoke the truth in a loving, nonthreatening tone. As we take a look at how to relate in a mature manner to others, we can have a large impact and live a happier life by adding some gentleness along the way.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.