Larry Reynolds, Denton, TX

Colossians 3:12-14 - "And, so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoevere has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.  And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity."

These verses list eight virtues which should characterize those who follow Christ. These virtues do not naturally exist inside of us. They actually run contrary to our basic human nature. We cannot produce them by human effort. These virtues are produced in us by the presence of God’s Spirit in our lives. Each of them is demonstrated in the life of Jesus and as we allow God to make us more like Jesus, then these virtues become evident in our lives as well.

GENTLENESS – The word translated “gentleness” in verse 12 is rendered “meekness” in many older translations of the Bible. That is not really a good translation for our day because in most of our vocabularies meekness implies weakness. To most of us, the word “meek” brings to mind timid person who is afraid speak out, afraid defend his or her ideas, and afraid be least bit assertive.  The word in Greek is "prautes.” This word has nothing to do with weakness. It was used by the Greeks to describe strength that was controlled or channeled. For example, it was used to describe: 

• Roman soldiers in full battle gear but who were in complete control of themselves. They were strong enough not be provoked into senseless a confrontation.
• Powerful horses which had been broken and whose power was channeled for useful purposes.

“Prautes” has nothing do with weakness, but is has everything to do with strength under control. As followers of Christ we have been given the gift of gentle strength. That means that we will: 

• Be considerate of others. One person defined this quality as an "understanding gentleness." It is the kind of spirit which asks, "What can I do to make life better for someone else? How lighten their load? How keep from wounding them?" 
• Not be given to fits of temper.  Aristotle defined "prautes" as the happy median between too much and too little anger. The person with this quality is never angry at the wrong things but always angry at right things. 
• Be courageous enough to appear weak.  One person defined "prautes" as a “powerful weakness.”  The person with this quality does not feel the need to prove himself or herself.