The Fruit of the Spirit - Pt 9

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV). Now we come to a very misunderstood word. Paul says a part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit is “gentleness.” It is from the Greek word “prautes.” This word is translated “mildness,” “meekness,” or "humility.” It is used by Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matthew 5:5). Vines says, “Gentleness is an inner grace of the soul and the exercises of it is chiefly towards God. It is that temper of spirit to accept God's dealings with us as good and therefore without disputing or resisting.” In other words, meekness is not on display for people to marvel at. This humility is directed to God. It always keeps God in the proper place in our life. In the face of adversity or trial we ought to rise up bearing the full armor of God and fight ruthlessly to defeat our enemy. But in the presence of God you bow low in recognition of who He is in your life. A.W. Tozer wrote, “The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God's estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is in the sight of God of more importance than angels. In himself, nothing; in God, everything. That is his motto.” So meekness is not the absence of backbone in your life. You are not called to lie down and roll over whenever it pleases the enemy. No, a truly humble heart knows when to bow and when to rise. Meekness is God’s preventative to pride. Unfortunately, pride has been redefined in our modern American culture as a virtue. The strong, the beautiful, the powerful, the intelligent, and the privileged take every opportunity to put themselves forward. Politicians manifest pride in speeches and debates; entertainers glamorize pride in their movies and lifestyles; educators teach pride by emphasizing self-esteem and making every child a winner, whether they deserve it or not; and sports icons reinforce pride as the path to greatness. The great tragedy is that this is not only wrong minded, it is destructive in our lives. Arnold Palmer recalls a lesson about pride and overconfidence. He said, “It was the final hole of the 1961 Masters tournament, and I had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying tee shot. I felt I was in pretty good shape. As I approached my ball, I saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery. He motioned me over, stuck out his hand and said, ‘Congratulations.’ I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus. On my next two shots, I hit the ball into a sand trap, then put it over the edge of the green. I missed a putt and lost the Masters.” Hmmmm… gentleness, meekness… I think we all would do well do cultivate that fruit from the Holy Spirit.