A soft answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
(Proverbs 15:1)

Words can be powerful! Harsh words make others angrier, but gentle words calm them down.

Being gentle doesn’t mean being weak. In fact, a gentle person is a strong person, because she speaks the truth humbly and kindly.

More importantly, in a world where it's easier to be mean, being gentle helps us point to our Lord Jesus, ever so gentle and kind. When you choose to be gentle, you show the world what Jesus is like. The Bible even tells us to let everyone see that we are gentle (Philippians 4:5)! People all around us are looking for living proof that God is real. Show them.

Learning from Jesus

Jesus is powerful. He could calm storms, heal sick people, and even bring the dead back to life! But He never abuses this power, even when others hurt Him or make mistakes.

When His disciples thought children were too unimportant to spend time with Jesus, He didn’t harshly shoo those children away. Instead, He gently welcomed them and blessed them. When soldiers arrested Jesus though He was innocent, He didn't speak harsh words to them too.

Rely on God to be Gentle

It's not easy to tame our tongue. However, gentleness is one part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The closer we walk with Jesus, the more gentle we'll become.

By being filled with the Holy Spirit, we're able to be far gentler than we could ever be on our own! If you're struggling with being gentle, start with prayer. Pray hard to receive the Holy Spirit, then pray hard for the Holy Spirit to transform you.

Saul, who used to violently hurt Christians, became the gentle apostle Paul. If the Holy Spirit can transform Saul into Paul, He can transform you too!

Apply Gentleness

Here are some situations where we can practise being gentle in our words:

• If a friend is rude to you, choose kind words and resist the temptation to be mean in response.

• When you've made a mistake, apologise humbly instead of blaming others.

• When a classmate that nobody likes makes a mistakes, instead of making fun of him, help him out.

• When you are upset and want to say mean words, stop yourself. Take a few deep breaths to calm down. If it helps, ask if you can talk later when you're more calm.

• When you share about Jesus and His salvation truth with your friends, do it with gentleness and respect, even if they don't agree (1 Peter 3:15).

Family Altar

Use these discussion questions and our prayer as a guide for your family altar. Parents can lead the prayer and invite their children to repeat after them or encourage their children to take the lead, making family altar time a shared journey of faith.

Discussion questions:

• Think about a time someone in your family spoke with gentle words though it was difficult. How did the gentle words help?

• What Bible characters are gentle and what can you learn from them?

• When do you find it difficult to be gentle? How can you work on it this week?

Prayer in words:

In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Lord, thank You for showing us what gentleness looks like. Sometimes, it can be difficult to be gentle when we feel big emotions. Please help us control what we say. Guard our lips and give us self-control. Fill our hearts with Your Holy Spirit and change our lives so that we can be gentler in our words. I want to glorify You with my life. Amen.