Gentleness is a fruit of the spirit, but in this 'dog eat dog' modern world, this is a spurned and ridiculed trait. If you delve deeper into its meaning, gentleness is a deceptive fruit of the spirit. Perhaps noting it's opposite will help hone in on understanding: Gentleness is the opposite of harshness, anger, arrogance and revenge.
Christianity always returns to 'love your neighbor as yourself', so the fruits of the spirit enumerated in Galatians 5:22/23 are all about how you treat the people around you. As I've suggested, you don't have to be a Christian to perceive these might be a good ethical and moral system in your interactions with others. Have you ever met anybody who shows gentleness? I have been privileged to know a few people whose clear understanding and embodiment of the fruits of the spirit have gobsmacked me.
When my current breast cancer scare arose, I immediately thought of certain people who I specifically wanted to pray for me. Now, why was that? Well, each of them visibly embodied more fruits of the spirit than I will ever have. And, when I read about 'gentleness', I was immediately struck that it was describing a blueprint of how one of these specific people lived her life. Yep, she's dead now, but it was a privilege to know her and amazing to watch her in action.
What did she do? Her final analysis of any person, and I mean any person, she came into contact with was to think of ways she might show her love and concern for them. Did she get angry? Sure. Was she occasionally petty or gossipy? Sure. However, when she caught herself behaving in such an unfruitful way, she pulled back and rethought. She was able to reach people the rest of us would have turned away from since we judged them as undeserving, incorrigible, unlovable, and obviously unworthy. Because that's what it really comes down to: We judge others in anger and contempt and justify our reaction because we find them unworthy.
Did she permanently change people's lives? I don't know about anybody else, but she changed mine. You know the trite and cliched WWJD? Well, I still often find myself thinking, "What would Mary Helen do?" I know she would not use her temper to run roughshod over others. (That volcanic temper thing is one of my personal favorite ways of behaving.) I know she would not display her arrogance in insisting her way or the highway. (Arrogance is often a personal characteristic and a real 'go to' way of behavior for me.) I know she would not plot how to 'get someone back'. ( Hmm - this one I don't do - I just 'cross them off my list' - the ultimate revenge.)
So, there you have gentleness. This fruit is a BIG struggle for me. Everyone has the power to belittle, steamroll and get revenge. The smarter, luckier,or more financially secure you are, the easier it is to use those unsavory powers. Choosing not to use personal power to undermine others is showing the fruit of the spirit called gentleness. If I could show 10% of what my friend Mary Helen showed others, then I would truly be rich.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
How Important is it to be Faithful?
Faithfulness as a fruit of the spirit is the quality of being faithful. So, let's talk about being faithful. In the 20th and 21st century, we've tended to define this word in terms of marriage. Are you faithful to your spouse? We mean have you forsaken romantic and sexual contact from people who are not your marriage partner. Boy, is it convenient or what to so completely narrow the definition of being faithful. Fidelity, a synonym of faithful, IS an important component of a successful marriage. It illustrates the origin of the word which flows all the way back to the Latin word 'fiducia' meaning 'trust'.
However, in broader terms one is faithful to what one thinks is important. On an 'oh duh' level, we are faithful to our jobs in that we go everyday, and a majority of Americans (according to a Gallup Poll) are mostly satisfied with their work, and about half as many again love their work. We, as a culture, are faithful to work.
We are faithful to our sports teams, our preferences, and our hobbies. We never miss a 'game'. We only listen to techno, punk, heavy metal, easy listening, classical, rock and roll, classic rock and roll, country/western, or nuevo anything. We are faithful to styles and tastes. We are at the gym, taking a yoga, zumba, kickboxing or pilates class. We are at exercise boot camp, lifting weights, walking or jogging. We embroider, sew, knit, read, write, woodwork, attend club meetings, play cards, go to museums, travel, cook, concoct exotic cocktails, read, watch tv, 'stream' or fool around on the internet. Being faithful to all these 'things' means they are so important to us we never miss an opportunity to do them.
However, how faithful are we to the non-partner people in our lives when it is time to shoulder some of the tough stuff. Did you dodge the phone call/text/email/letter from a friend in pain with the excuse, "I don't know what to say." Do you try to get out of extended family obligations because they are inconvenient or boring? Do you fail to step up or step out when it's obvious there's an opportunity. "Opportunity" was the favorite word of a friend of mine. She meant: Show your faithfulness. And, yes, she's dead, but I still see those damn 'opportunities' all around me.
If you are still reading, congratulate yourself. People who don't want faithfulness to be expanded to the idea of being faithful to others have already stopped reading. So, today, be faithful to your job and your spouse and to your interests, and your friends, but realize it's equally important to be faithful to the need of your neighbors, you know, those people whose paths intersect your own.
However, in broader terms one is faithful to what one thinks is important. On an 'oh duh' level, we are faithful to our jobs in that we go everyday, and a majority of Americans (according to a Gallup Poll) are mostly satisfied with their work, and about half as many again love their work. We, as a culture, are faithful to work.
We are faithful to our sports teams, our preferences, and our hobbies. We never miss a 'game'. We only listen to techno, punk, heavy metal, easy listening, classical, rock and roll, classic rock and roll, country/western, or nuevo anything. We are faithful to styles and tastes. We are at the gym, taking a yoga, zumba, kickboxing or pilates class. We are at exercise boot camp, lifting weights, walking or jogging. We embroider, sew, knit, read, write, woodwork, attend club meetings, play cards, go to museums, travel, cook, concoct exotic cocktails, read, watch tv, 'stream' or fool around on the internet. Being faithful to all these 'things' means they are so important to us we never miss an opportunity to do them.
However, how faithful are we to the non-partner people in our lives when it is time to shoulder some of the tough stuff. Did you dodge the phone call/text/email/letter from a friend in pain with the excuse, "I don't know what to say." Do you try to get out of extended family obligations because they are inconvenient or boring? Do you fail to step up or step out when it's obvious there's an opportunity. "Opportunity" was the favorite word of a friend of mine. She meant: Show your faithfulness. And, yes, she's dead, but I still see those damn 'opportunities' all around me.
If you are still reading, congratulate yourself. People who don't want faithfulness to be expanded to the idea of being faithful to others have already stopped reading. So, today, be faithful to your job and your spouse and to your interests, and your friends, but realize it's equally important to be faithful to the need of your neighbors, you know, those people whose paths intersect your own.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Goodness Gracious
"Have a blessed day." In my mind's eye, I can still see the short, slight, ebony colored, turbaned African immigrant woman who worked at the Valero gas station close to my Hurst house. I never knew her name. I would buy gas and deliberately go inside to pay because she would always smile and anoint me with her blessing. She radiated goodness.
All the fruits of the spirit are exactly that: They are what happen to who you are when you allow yourself to be filled with the Holy Spirit. GOODNESS is you being a blessing to others. Goodness is not about brownie points for your own virtue or morality. Thinking about what other people need, and then answering that need is the spiritual fruit, goodness.
Now, a little aside for all my readers who are heathens. The 'fruits of the spirit' is an inherently Christian concept since it's part of the New Testament - the blueprint for Christianity. So let me have a bit of a dialogue with you:
Heathen: "So, I don't believe in this religious mumbo-jumbo. I think the idea that we are puppets of some 'grand creator' is just superstitious nonsense, a holdover from the pre-scientific days when we really didn't understand the universe, physics, biology or chemistry. Nowadays, we are just a grasp away from understanding everything down to the sub-molecular level. I'll put my faith in science, thank you very much."
Me: While you belittle and disrespect my beliefs, I will not do the same to yours. Perhaps, I might just ask how all the understandings science can give you will solve the necessity of developing an ethical and moral system to give you a framework for rubbing along successfully with all the other human animals you encounter? You might approach the "fruits of the spirit" as a game plan for living a satisfying and meaningful life on this planet. Then, when you shuffle off this mortal coil, you can fulfill your fondest certainty and go to the worms. (Sorry, the last sentence was disrespectful, but I just couldn't help myself.)
I think everyone has that goodness muscle whether you are of the religious persuasion or a heathen. You certainly see it being flexed whenever there's a tragedy, small or large. Goodness brings food, water, shelter, muscles, money, resources, and coordination after death, tornado, flood, hurricane, or earthquake.
Now, here's today's takeaway: You are a blessing when you volunteer, smile, offer a helping hand, listen with your third ear, put others before self, show respect, admiration, and give of your talents. Goodness is being a blessing to others. Show it by having a blessed day.
All the fruits of the spirit are exactly that: They are what happen to who you are when you allow yourself to be filled with the Holy Spirit. GOODNESS is you being a blessing to others. Goodness is not about brownie points for your own virtue or morality. Thinking about what other people need, and then answering that need is the spiritual fruit, goodness.
Now, a little aside for all my readers who are heathens. The 'fruits of the spirit' is an inherently Christian concept since it's part of the New Testament - the blueprint for Christianity. So let me have a bit of a dialogue with you:
Heathen: "So, I don't believe in this religious mumbo-jumbo. I think the idea that we are puppets of some 'grand creator' is just superstitious nonsense, a holdover from the pre-scientific days when we really didn't understand the universe, physics, biology or chemistry. Nowadays, we are just a grasp away from understanding everything down to the sub-molecular level. I'll put my faith in science, thank you very much."
Me: While you belittle and disrespect my beliefs, I will not do the same to yours. Perhaps, I might just ask how all the understandings science can give you will solve the necessity of developing an ethical and moral system to give you a framework for rubbing along successfully with all the other human animals you encounter? You might approach the "fruits of the spirit" as a game plan for living a satisfying and meaningful life on this planet. Then, when you shuffle off this mortal coil, you can fulfill your fondest certainty and go to the worms. (Sorry, the last sentence was disrespectful, but I just couldn't help myself.)
I think everyone has that goodness muscle whether you are of the religious persuasion or a heathen. You certainly see it being flexed whenever there's a tragedy, small or large. Goodness brings food, water, shelter, muscles, money, resources, and coordination after death, tornado, flood, hurricane, or earthquake.
Now, here's today's takeaway: You are a blessing when you volunteer, smile, offer a helping hand, listen with your third ear, put others before self, show respect, admiration, and give of your talents. Goodness is being a blessing to others. Show it by having a blessed day.
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