Verse: Philippians 4:5
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Devotion
Are you someone who prides themselves on being able to “find the loopholes” in things? I heard about a guy the other day who somehow scammed the reward system of a couple credit cards and made hundreds of thousands of dollars. Apparently this isn’t a rare thing. The credit card companies have people whose job it is to find the people who find the loopholes, and then close those loopholes. If only I was smart enough…
This verse, however, really doesn’t leave much of a loophole does it? It’s very simple, very plain, and very all-encompassing. “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” Boom. Enough said. Try to wiggle your way out of that one! I think when Paul wrote that he had a real “drop the stylus” moment, don’t you?
Two words specifically stick out to me: “evident” and “all”.
“Evident” – so you’re telling me that it’s not enough to just pray for people? While prayer is great and amazing and we should all be doing it, no, it’s not enough. Our gentleness towards one another needs to be evident. When Jesus came upon a fig tree that was supposed to have figs and didn’t, he wasn’t happy with it. Maybe the same is true of us? We are supposed to have the fruit of gentleness, but if no one can tell, what good is it? If our gentle hearts don’t manifest into gentle action, how is that doing any good for anyone?
“All” – c’mon Paul, really? Have you met my neighbor/co-worker/family member? No excuses. No loopholes. We are to master this fruit of gentleness so that it is evident to all. Every relationship, every moment, every difficult exchange with someone, is an opportunity to give the gift of gentleness to someone in our life.
I wonder who today in your life could use some gentleness? Keep this at the top of your list today. Be on the lookout. It could be in your home, workplace, online, or at school. Be on the lookout – for people – not for loopholes.
Prayer
Help me to embody the gentleness of Christ to those around me.
Author: Christian Dunn
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