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 eorge
W. Bush, senior, campaigned for president of the United States on the slogan of a kinder and gentler society.
It sounded like a theme from the Sermon on the Mount. He lost. He lost because few really identified with the
slogan and what he stood for. To be kind and gentle sounds like a wonderful trait that many would like to experience
from others. Yet, American businesses spend millions of dollars every year training their employees to be kinder
and gentler towards others for the sake of productivity, but it is not a characteristic many really want to
possess. Jesus’ words seem nice, but most respond, “So what!” Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. (NASB) Matt. 5:5 Not Jesus’ Idea. I wonder how the people reacted when Jesus spoke the third
beatitude (Matt 5:5). I wonder if they thought, “This is desirable behavior for others; maybe I should
act that way.” I wonder if anyone thought Jesus was a nice, loving and considerate guy who had a wonderful
heart for others. I wonder what they thought?
Maybe they wanted to think Jesus did not mean what he was saying. Some may say it means, “Blessed
are the meek . . .” because that is how my Bible reads. That is closer to the meaning. It can be difficult
to translate from one language into another. A common misunderstanding is that gentle means humble, but that
is not completely accurate either. His audience had the advantage on us since they understood the Greek word
(PRAUS) Jesus used for “gentle.”
Gentle Does Not Mean. Let us look at what this word does NOT mean before we
decide what it means. There are four stops in scripture we could make with our “horse and carriage,” but
we will only stop three times. The first stop is Col 3:12,
. . . put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (NASB) The word “gentleness” is the same word that Jesus used, but notice all of the other words - “compassion,” “kindness,” “humility” and “patience.” What
does that suggest about the meaning of the word gentle? It implies that gentle does not mean compassion nor does
it mean kindness or any of the other words. Next, we will rein in our horse at Matt. 11:29,
Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart. (NASB) Now PRAUS is translated as “gentle.” It is different from the Greek word normally used for “humble.” Now
we will move on to Titus 3:1-2,
Remind them to be subject to rulers . . . to be uncontentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. (NIV) Notice that PRAUS is not good manners. I often think of gentleness as involving compassion and as a result
having good manners and grace toward others. But gentle does not mean compassion, kind, humble, or good manners.
Gentle Does Mean. PRAUS was sometimes used by the ancients to refer to a “fever
being lessened.” History says that Xerxes “calmed” his troops. It was used to refer to leniency
for the guilty, a soft voice, to be easygoing, not easily offended and considerate. The best sense of PRAUS
is illustrated by a “trained dog” or a tame lion that was once wild. The word has the idea of yielding
like a domesticated animal and caring for others.” This third beatitude could read, “Happy are
those who lovingly defer or yield to others.” Is that you? Most of us want others to lovingly defer to
us - not the reverse.
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