Gentleness

2 Timothy 2:24-25New Living Translation (NLT)

24 A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.  25Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.

At their school carnival, our kids won four free goldfish (lucky us!), so out I went Saturday morning to find an aquarium. The first few I priced ranged from $40 to $70. Then I spotted it--right in the aisle: a discarded 10-gallon display tank, complete with gravel and filter--for a mere five bucks. Sold! Of course, it was nasty dirty, but the savings made the two hours of clean-up a breeze.

Those four new fish looked great in their new home, at least for the first day. But by Sunday one had died. Too bad, but three remained. Monday morning revealed a second casualty, and by Monday night a third goldfish had gone belly up. We called in an expert, a member of our church who has a 30-gallon tank. It didn't take him long to discover the problem: I had washed the tank with soap, an absolute no-no. My uninformed efforts had destroyed the very lives I was trying to protect. Sometimes in our zeal to clean up our own lives or the lives of others, we unfortunately use "killer soaps"--condemnation, criticism, nagging, fits of temper. We think we're doing right, but our harsh, self-righteous treatment is more than they can bear.

Richard L. Dunagin.

This passage of scripture reminds us on how we’re to communicate our message. As educators, we are tasked with imparting wisdom to our students.  As believers in Christ, we are commissioned to share the gospel to this world that we live in. In both instances, what we must remember that our delivery must be seasoned with gentleness.   Though at times it can be difficult to do in a hostile, divisive world, when we share with a gentle spirit  I believe our message of truth will be able to be heard louder than if we were screaming it at the top of our lungs.

Blessings,

Bryan Apodaca