Gentleness

What does it mean to be gentle?  To be honest we struggled to define gentleness, is it a demeanor?  Is it a degree of action?  Is it just like kindness?  We concluded that it is the way in which one behaves; rooted in positive intentions.  When we look at the story of Nabal and Abigail we see a woman filled with gentleness.

Nabal was approached by King David’s men who were asking for food in gratitude for keeping Nabal’s men safe.  Nabal replied harshly, and stated that he would not favor their request and that for him to do so would be absurd.  David became furious and threatened his own life if he failed to punish Nabal for this mistreatment.   Abigail heard of the news from a servant and acted immediately.  She gathered food and wine and went to David to beg for forgiveness for her husband’s actions in an attempt to save her family.  The next words she uttered showed respect for David, compassion for her husband and honor to God.  David accepted her apology and granted her request.  Her next actions further displayed the extent of her gentleness.  She returned home and found her husband feasting like a king.  He was high in spirits and very drunk.  Rather than chastising him there, she chose to act in gentleness.  Abigail waited until the next morning to tell Nabal what had happened.

What we can glean from the story of Nabal and Abigail is that gentleness requires compassion, kindness and humility.  Gentleness and the accompanying characteristic are not possible without a daily outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Gentleness reflects a transformed mind and attitude.  It is a consistent response that seeks a peaceful and positive solution to what is happening around you.  Gentleness is a powerful weapon in diffusing negative or difficult situations.

God uses gentleness in a powerful way to draw us to him.  God gave Nabal 10 days to repent for his sinful and foolish ways.  Nabal’s failure to do so caused his demise.  When we think of our own sinful ways it is comforting to see how God’s gentleness is always evident.  It is reflected in how He tailors our experiences to teach us.  God’s persistence in drawing us closer to Him and the versatility of his measures exhibits His gentleness.  Gentleness in our actions portrays the depth and extent of God’s endless love. 

To being wise,

Meredith, Jennifer and Marisa

Response to "Bringing Back the Nones" article - The Visitor, Volume 118, Issue 8

Dear editor,

We appreciate the work that this publication is accomplishing and respect the articles that are featured. However, we took exception to the article by Loren Seibold titled "Bringing Back the Nones". We are three young women who are in the age range as your so-called "Nones". We acknowledge the issues presented in the article, they are very real, our generation has disappeared from the church. But we are not the only ones; other generations are also finding the church to be less and less relevant to our lives. The issues that we deal with as young people are seldom discussed in church. We are left to navigate these issues on our own. The author of this article asked if the church was the problem and failed to answer his own question. His title, however, was very revealing. The key source of our disappearance is rooted in the distrust that is heavily implied by the label given to us. Perhaps we are the "Nones" because that is how our generation is viewed, as worthless and useless. The older generations' perception of us, as the author eloquently stated, is 90% of reality. The reality is the mistrust between the generations has caused the "Nones" to have no influence, no role, no power, no leadership and nothing of value to add to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The fact that we question tradition is easily misconstrued as a lack of spirituality. Our desire to share the gospel in innovative ways is seen as too risky and rebellious. We are not trying to change the rules for our convenience we are seeking to make the rules relevant and applicable to our lives. The truth for us does not change, however, the packaging needs to be updated. As soon as we attempt to do this we are shunned and advised to review the fundamentals. We have left the church because we have spoken and you have not heard. We feel irrelevant and unneeded. It is interesting that of all the labels to assign to us, the "Nones" was chosen. We elect to call ourselves the "Navigators" because we have been neglected and tossed out into a sea of unanswered questions and doubt to fend for ourselves. Contrary to popular belief, we take responsibility for our own spirituality, our disappearance from the church is not because we do not believe, it is because our platform has yet to be bestowed upon us. As the "Navigators" the three of us started a blog to record our spiritual walk in the hopes of helping other "Navigators" and to find our place in the church. If you want us to come back to the church, send our children to SDA schools and take an active part, then make room for us and pass the baton.


Read the original article here:


http://issuu.com/columbiaunion/docs/august2013visitor/11?e=2183245/4231577