BE HUMBLE AND GENTLE - By Chuck Ryor
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3
Of late I’ve experienced people who were impatient. Not the kind of impatience where a person wants speedier service at the store. The person I’m experiencing is the one who is impatient with other Christians. They sit critically assessing whether they pray maturely, serve the poor with enough zeal, or understand theology sufficiently. The judgmental believer is an unattractive one.
As Paul describes the Christian family to the Ephesians, we’re to be humble and gentle…patient with one another. To the self-righteous Christian, this demeanor seems like compromise. Why would you not tell the truth to someone now and push them to be better now? “Now” is a word that impatient people (and babies, by the way) use a lot.
I know a lot about impatient people because I have historically been seen as one. As I lamented to a friend at church about some of my recent encounters, he gently commented that I seemed to lack patience with these impatient people. I hate when my friends are right about how hypocritical I am. I needed to confess to the Lord that I had been impatient with those who aren’t mature enough to be patient with weak Christians and imperfect churches.
The Gospel gives us the freedom to face the worst parts of ourselves. When our friends gently share our foibles, we should be able to react with humility because we are confident that Jesus has forgiven us. He came precisely because we needed forgiveness for our sins. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise when people point that out. It’s even more challenging for us when people who don’t like us are this critical.
In the runup to the 2016 presidential election, Dr. Russell Moore of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission was openly critical of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. As was often the case, Mr. Trump lashed out at a critic, this time declaring, “Russell Moore is truly a terrible representative of Evangelicals and all of the good they stand for. A nasty guy with no heart!”
In the following days, Moore was interviewed across the national media spectrum. MSNBC’s “Meet the Press Daily” panel asked Dr. Moore what he thought about the president’s assessment of him. Without conceding his concerns about Trump’s character or confessing to any particular wrong, Moore replied confidently, “I am a nasty guy with no heart, which is why I need forgiveness of sins and redemption through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Some saw Moore’s response as sarcasm. I thought it was demonstrative of a person who was so confident in Christ’s redeeming love that he didn’t have trouble agreeing with someone’s attack on their moral capabilities. When someone accuses us of being sinful, we can be secure in God’s love for us so that we don’t overreact. Russell Moore demonstrated the possibility that truly forgiven people can be patient with each other (even enemies who hate us or are critical of our abilities). This is possible as we humbly recognize our own need for forgiveness and bask in God’s love.
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” - Colossians 3:12-14
My wife and I are reading a book together that I’d like to recommend. The book is “GENTLE & LOWLY” by Dane Ortland. Not only is it masterfully written, but it is drenched in the wonderful news that Jesus is gentle and humble toward we broken sinners. The most important reason for us to be gentle and humble toward one another is that others get to experience Jesus through us when we are.