Gentleness

SHOWING GENTLENESS

TALKING TO GOD
Thank God for the people in your life who show you gentleness. Ask God to help you find ways to show His gentleness to others.

DIVING IN
Gently tap objects as you walk through your house. You can tap a window, a hardwood floor, a countertop, a glass vase or the front door. Discuss why you need to be gentle when you tap items around the house. Concentrate on how fragile items can break and hard items can hurt your hands.

GOING DEEPER
Sometimes your actions are what you use to “tap” the people around us. It’s important to remember that you can hurt others with your behavior, just as you can be hurt by what others do. Because you are fragile, God wants you to be gentle with others. Philippians 4:5 says, “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” Your actions are evidence of your gentleness, and when you make an effort to be gentle with others, you show God’s character to the world.

TALKING TO EACH OTHER
– What is one thing you do that shows gentleness to others?
– How difficult or easy is it to show gentleness to others?
– How have others modeled gentleness to you?
– What can you do this week to show gentleness to someone?

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GOD LEADS IN HIS GENTLENESS

Talking to God

You serve a loving God. Thank Him for His desire to lead you gently toward Him and His willingness to give you the choice of obedience.

Diving In

Put on a blindfold. Then, have another family member guide you through different rooms by “steering” your shoulders from behind. Then walk through the same rooms, still blindfolded, following the whispered directions of a trusted family member.

Going Deeper

Just as family members can guide you with touch and whispers, God has many ways of gently leading you forward. He directs you through His Word (Psalm 119:105),
with a quiet voice (1 Kings 19:11–13) and through other people (Hebrews 13:7). No matter how He leads you, God can do so without being harsh. If you accidentally head in the wrong direction, He can gently help you back onto His path. Even when you purposely disobey, His desire is to lovingly correct you. In the process of
learning to follow Him, God allows you to make choices and suffer the consequences of your choices; but He also knows how to pull you gently back into His fold.

Talking to Each Other

How was having someone steer you through the rooms different than having directions whispered to you?

Which way is more like how God leads you? Explain.

How can you learn to better recognize God’s gentle leading?

Speech

GENTLENESS IN SPEECH

TALKING TO GOD
Thank God for giving you the ability to be gentle with your words. Ask Him to help you choose your words carefully so they are not hurtful.

DIVING IN
List five words that describe your best friend. Now list five words that describe someone you don’t get along with very well. Say each of the 10 words out loud and consider how you’d feel if each of those words were used to describe you.

GOING DEEPER
Words are powerful. “The tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21). Wow! What you say — and how you say it — really does matter. Words can hurt, or they can heal. When you respond to hurtful words with more hurtful words, you only make things worse. If you answer with gentleness, you can soothe angry or bitter feelings and restore broken relationships. Our gentle words show people that they have value, whether you agree or disagree with them. Proverbs 12:18 says, “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

TALKING TO EACH OTHER
– How have others hurt you with their words?
– How have you hurt others with your words?
– What gentle words have been given to you, and how did they help you?
– Who is one person you can use gentle words with, even if this person doesn’t deserve them?

Fight for what matters…

How do you make the better choice of living with one handful? You fight for what does matter. Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 6 to flee from the love of money and possessions and instead pursue such simple things as righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

Nehemiah 4

14And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”