Gentleness Is Next To Godliness

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5

The third happy instruction from Jesus that we call the Beatitudes is the one about being meek, gentle, and humble.  He said we’ll be happy and blessed by God if we possess this character quality. We will be assigned an inheritance of contentment on earth. We know we've got heaven in our future but we can have a little “heaven on earth” if we can live in a peaceful gentle way.

I think it’s not so much the activity or action as it is the attitude. It is a joyful submission. It’s the golden rule we were taught as a child: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (From Jesus in Matthew 7:12) But Jesus took this attitude a little farther. He took awful actions from others and He gave in return the attitude of love, grace, forgiveness, and mercy.

I think that when we give gentleness in the face of harshness directed toward us we are being the most like Christ.

We quietly submit to God and the authority He has placed over us. We bear insults and do not retaliate with insults. We are patient with those who are impatiently angry. We don’t belittle others so we can build up our own ego. We don’t join in the step on whoever I have to, to get ahead philosophy. We don’t get bitter if someone mistreats us or takes away our life prizes.

And by the way, just think about those people who are insubordinate, insulting, angry, ego indulgers, clawing their way to what they think is success; those who grab and hold the stuff of the world and are never remorseful over who they hurt to get it but are bitter and unforgiving if they don’t get their way.  Are they happy?  Are they ever content? Do they ever reach that place of relaxed peacefulness?

Well Jesus has that place on earth. And we can be in that place on earth. Be gentle like He was gentle. Be humble like He was humble. Give love and forgiveness to others as He does for you.

Change the golden rule to the Godly rule: Do unto others what Jesus did for you. Do unto others what Jesus did for them. Be as much like Jesus as you can. 

 What do you get out of this way of life? You get happiness. You get contentment. You get that place of relaxed peacefulness that the world doesn't understand.

It sounds like a wonderful place and I don’t know why I don’t go there more often.

 Too many times I get my feelings hurt because someone wronged me. I get angry that it didn't go my way. I get impatient with slow people. Yes, and on occasion, I've even said, “I don’t care,” and I didn't. Those were the unhappy times. Those were the times I wasn't accessing the inheritance God has for me on earth. 

I don’t like that place.

I want my happy inheritance place.

I want the place of gentleness.

That place is next to Jesus.