A L M A C I A S

BE GENTLE ONE TOWARD ANOTHER

In Matthew 7:12, we read what the Lord said in reference to our treatment of one another. The passage reads, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." The passage before us has come to be known as the golden rule. Treating others as we would like to be treated is not that difficult for anyone to understand. Then why is it that there are so many in this world who do not practice this in their lives? The reason may be because to do this requires effort. And we must agree that we are living in a society that wants things without putting too much effort into them. Let us look at one quality which is lacking in the lives of many and which keeps them from doing what the Lord has commanded in Matthew 7:12. This quality is "gentleness." What is the definition of this very important quality? "Gentleness" means to be kind, to be peaceful, compassionate, sympathetic, merciful, thoughtful, considerate, not violent, not rough, not severe. The antonym of "gentleness" is to be hard to be cruel, unkind, heartless, harsh, hard-hearted, offensive, aggressive, and violent. As we noticed in the definition of "gentleness," we find that it describes a quality that has to do with how we treat one another, and that is exactly what the Lord was referring to in Matthew 7:12.

What do the Scriptures teach us about our treatment of one another? One of the things that we are taught in the Holy Scriptures is that we are to love one another. We have such passages as 1 Peter 2:17, where the apostle Peter wrote by inspiration, "Honour all men, Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king." We also have what the apostle John wrote in 1 John 3:17,18, "But whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." In the Old Testament, we read in Deuteronomy 23:19,20 how the Jews were told they could make loans to all men, but they were not to charge interest to their fellow brethren. So we see that the treating of one another in a right way was not just a teaching that was found in the New Testament, but in the Old Testament as well. We find many examples of how people of God treated each other in the spirit of gentleness. One example is found in the way that Abraham treated Lot when it was necessary that they separate from one another. We read in Genesis 13:1-13 concerning the strife between the herdmen of Abraham and the herdmen of Lot, because there was not enough grass for all of their animals. Abraham told Lot that this fighting was wrong, and he gave Lot first choice of the land where his animals could eat. When Abraham did this, he showed a spirit of gentleness, in that he was being very considerate of Lot. Lot, on the other hand, showed that he lacked the spirit of gentleness in that he chose the best part of the land, without even giving consideration to his uncle Abraham, who had given him so much of what he now possessed. When we are just "looking out for number one," gentleness will not be one of our qualities. In the New Testament, we read of the Lord's teaching the parable of the "good Samaritan." In this parable, we are able to find characters who were found on opposite sides of the spectrum when it came to the quality of gentleness. The thieves who robbed and beat up a traveler on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho were completely without the quality of gentleness. The priest and the Levite who came later and saw the man who had been robbed and beaten half-to-death were also lacking this very important quality of gentleness. They showed this by simply not doing anything to help the man. But then came a Samaritan, who not only stopped to tend to this man whom he did not even know, but he also placed him on his own beast and took him to an inn at his own expense. This, indeed, was a true picture of practicing gentleness toward another. How many of us possess this very important quality of "gentleness?"