Gentleness

Have you ever heard kids quarreling in the back seat of a car? The smallest disagreement becomes the basis for increasingly harsh retaliation. They're just kids, right? But it sure sounds like how adults fight online!

In his refreshing book, The Allure of Gentleness, the philosopher Dallas Willard proposes another way. He writes:

"The means of our communication needs to be gentle, because gentleness also characterizes the subject of our communication. What we are seeking to defend or explain is Jesus himself, who is a gentle, loving shepherd. If we are not gentle in how we present the good news, how will people encounter the gentle and loving Messiah we want to point to?"

I wonder: If our arguments are lacking, perhaps we feel the need to add a forceful presentation?

But if we have a quiet confidence in God, and we've thought deeply about the question we're discussing, then it is easier to remain mild and tender-hearted in our discussion.