7th Fruit — Clarifications …
Initially, it is important to understand that the humility of divine Gentleness is not to be confused with humiliation. Right Actions always humbly attempt to relieve another’s burdens, and thus cannot ever cause shame or embarrassment, regardless of their outcomes (“Let your adornment be the inner Self, with the lasting Beauty of a gentle and quiet Spirit.” ~ 1 Peter 3:4) … Likewise, true Gentleness is not characterized by self-degradation, for real Humility has nothing at all to do with “obedience” to or subservience to another (“Very truly, the one who believes in me will also Do the Works I Do and, in fact, will Do even greater Works than these …” ~ Jesus in John 14:12) … On the other hand, divinely Gentle actions have everything to do with being courageously true to your True Self (“Clothe yourself with the new Self, created accorded to the likeness of God.” ~ Ephesians 4:24) …
Additionally, though always openly flexible, truly Humble actions are not at all “wishy-washy” or “inconsequent.” When another asks you for help, your ego may tempt you to believe that you have “more important things to do”, or that the request for assistance is “unworthy” or “counterproductive.” And yet, the humility of divine Gentleness encourages us to choose to help them anyway (“Each of us must please our neighbor solely for the good purpose of building up that neighbor.” ~ Romans 15:2) … As long as we can honestly have faith that our assistance neither causes future pain nor entrenches current discomfort, we engage each & every opportunity to serve, for service isn’t a burden – service is a privilege. As such, release all concerns related to an option’s probability of “success”, its practicality of implementation, or its “irrationality” (“Like good stewards of the manifold Grace of God, serve one another with whatever Gift each of you has Received.” ~ 1 Peter 4:8) … Choose instead to simply say “Yes” to every request that has the probability of aiding another — especially if that request is not in your own “best interest” (“Give to everyone who begs of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.” ~ Jesus in Matthew 5:42) … And remember that Christians do not Do Good for another in order to get rewarded; even the reward of changing the other “for the better” (“But when you Give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. And you will be Blessed, because they cannot repay you …” ~ Jesus in Luke 14:13-14) …
Finally, we are also called to Gentleness whenever we bear witness to the Good News. Indeed, “The Great Commission” is not a process of converting others to our own views (“This is the Covenant that I [God] will make [via Jesus] … I will put my laws in their minds and I will write them on their Hearts … And they shall not teach one another or say to each other ‘Know the Lord’” ~ Hebrews 8:10-11 & “You have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others, for in passing judgment on others you condemn yourself …” ~ Romans 2:1). Rather, real Gentle Witnessing is a life of showing The Way to others with our actions (“Let your Light shine before others, so that they may see your Good Works …” ~ Jesus in Matthew 5:16 & Mark 4:21-22) … St. Francis of Assisi is purported to have said that we should “Testify to the Word of God; using words only when necessary.” Thus, we as well are to verbally share our faith only with those who ask us to do so (“Always be Ready to support your Way to anyone who demands from you an accounting … and Do so with gentleness and humility” ~ 1 Peter 3:15) … Therefore, show others The Way with your actions much more than your words, my Friends. Show them that Peace and Happiness are internal choices that transcend mere circumstance. Show them that neither internal temptations nor external pressures can keep us all from choosing to be true to our True Selves — by openly Loving others with gentle deeds of Forgiveness & Charity (“My Grace is sufficient for you, for my Power is made perfect through temptations of weakness.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:8-9) …
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