Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 10/13)
In sports, it’s not uncommon to ask the question, “Who is stronger?” Who is the stronger team? Who is the stronger competitor? In other words, based on a side-by-side comparison of physical capacity, who is most likely to win?
But like the famous saying goes, “That’s why they play the game.” Because it’s not that straightforward. You can be physically dominant in every statistic and still chalk up a loss. You can put in a solid cycle of training and still not get a new PR. As athletes grow and mature in their field of sport, they understand that strength is merely one component of the journey to become stronger.
Especially when it comes to mental, emotional, and spiritual strength. These are the arenas where “brute force” is the last thing you want to do. Instead, you must build the skill of allowing God to direct your strength. This is the spiritual skill of gentleness.
Now, when you think about the qualities and characteristics of strong people, where does gentle rank? Probably not high on the list. But we all know a “gentle giant” in our lives. A person whose strength or size or power is tempered by the way they care for and interact with others.
They can pick a dandelion. They can hold a baby. And yes, they can crush a barbell. But it’s as if they know when and how to direct their power, as well as when to restrain it.
So it is with the spiritual skill of gentleness. Jesus has incredible power. He raised the dead. He made the lame walk. He let the blind see. Yet He was gentle with His power. He allowed the Father to divinely direct His strength.
And nowhere do we need more gentleness then when it comes to conflict and disagreements. I guarantee you there are people in your life you have tension with. It could be a co-worker, a relative, a sibling, your significant other, or even your children. Live on the earth long enough and you will have conflict.
Culture wants you to believe the best way to handle it is with brute force. Maybe you post a rant to your feed to stir up the mob, so they’ll take your side and cancel the other. Maybe you go in guns blazing with a whole laundry list of why they’re wrong and you’re right. Or maybe you passively aggressively tuck it away and start plotting your revenge for later. These are the examples culture gives us. But Scripture offers us another way.
The book of 2 Timothy is a letter from the Apostle Paul to a young pastor. Timothy is facing some conflict. He’s dealing with people who muddled and confused the gospel and contorted it into what they wanted it to be. Now, I don’t know about you but that fires me up. That’s still going on today! And maybe Timothy wanted to hit them with a little cultural brute force.
But instead, Paul instructs him to be gentle. Not to get tangled up with the false teachings, but to continue lovingly instructing the false teachers. Not to prove that God is right, but to give then space to realize they are wrong.
Gentleness may not appear to be strong, but that’s why they play the game of life. People who place their strength under the divine direction of Jesus have the capacity to bring love into any conflict. And love is the essential ingredient we all need to truly be stronger.
Questions for Reflection:
What’s your experience trying to bring gentleness into conflict?
Why do you think culture wants us to use brute force instead?
How has God been gentle with you?
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