GENTLE PERSUASION
Scripture Reading - 2 Timothy 2:22-25 KJV
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
An outstanding characteristic of the Lord is His “gentleness”. We (ihlcc) have found that Our Heavenly Father and His Precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, are both perfect “Gentlemen”. The Lord is very firm in His convictions of truth and righteousness but “gentle” is His approach to “persuasion”. This is the primary reason we entitled this article “Gentle Persuasion” because the Lord still seeks to persuade all men to be holy by living a sanctified life but He forces His Will upon no one. This includes living a lifestyle worth of the salvation that Jesus Christ purchased for us (and all mankind) at Calvary. Upon examination of the word “gentle” we think of soft spoken, kind, easy going and mild. However, many people in the world are not of that type of nature. The flesh is the exact opposite in its behavior instead of soft speech it is loud, instead of being kind it is mean, instead of being easy going it is difficult to get along with and instead of mildness the carnal man is harsh. While speaking about this topic it is very easy to agree that being loud, mean, difficult and harsh is bad but how many people truly realize when they are truly being pushy. Trying to exert your own will over someone else’s is not being a “gentle persuader” but rather a manipulator. Yes, the big difference between manipulation and persuasion is that manipulation understands that the other person’s will is different from theirs but still tries to maneuver that other person into doing what they want, whereas persuasion simply tries to inform that other person of a different viewpoint. When we (ihlcc) use the term “Gentle Persuasion” we are referring to the heart (the spirit) of the individual being gentle - before, during and after the persuasion. It is amazing to note how many people will try to convince you to do their will without reservation. They think nothing of intruding into your life, your space and/or your situation to inject their own personal opinion. They foolishly presume (think) that their ideals are better than what you can come up with on your own. They generally don’t have enough faith to believe that God will deal with each person separately they would much rather deal with them themselves. Having a meek heart that desires to teach others makes being gentle a preferred option but many people prefer to argue their point at all cost. They don’t realize the strife and friction of forcing their will upon others in their pathway is the road to destruction. It is this type of selfishness that fuels the fires of division and destruction all throughout the world. So purpose to be godly in your approach to help others by remembering if you cannot be a “gentle persuader” you should not be a person of persuasion at all. The old adage states, “If can’t do it right, don’t do it at all” is true because “gentle persuasion” resembles the Lord while being too aggressive when trying to convince someone else resembles the works of the flesh motivated by the nature of pride which is only interested in its own will that wants things its own way. Look to educate softly and inform as needed to keep yourself in the frame work of “gentle persuasion” because over stepping the boundaries in this area could cost you your witness before God and men. Amen!