Becoming a Gentleman

“Everyone struggles with relationships; yet God has wired us for relationship.” This was my main idea this past Sunday as I began a teaching series at our church called, “LOST”.  It’s a series about surviving the wreckage of relationships. You can find more about it or listen online later this week on the Messages page of our website.

One of the ideas I would like to write about is especially for the guys, but it really applies to anyone.  It comes from Ephesians 4:1-2 (New Living Translation): “Therefore I… beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each others’ faults because of your love.”

Notice the word, “gentle”.  That’s not much of a “guy word”; guys like me don’t always connect well with it.  I mean, I definitely don’t want written on my tombstone something like, “He was so gentle.”  No, huh-uh.  However, when you get past the possible effeminate affiliations and see what it’s really about, it’s powerful.  Think of it like this: self-control.  Don’t “power up”.  When you have been wronged, instead of powering up, you exercise self-control and you gear down.  This makes you a gentle man.  It gives you a strong part of the foundation of being a true gentleman.

Being a gentleman doesn’t mean you’re being a wimp.  Quite the contrary; it takes a real man to exercise self-control.  Anyone can vent and spew their anger or unhappiness.  It takes great strength of character to gear down and be kind and patient when facing the faults of others.

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