This week we’re going to be reflecting on having a “gentle and quiet spirit.” Thanks, Mary, for these wise words:
Bill used to say I have a voice that carries through concrete. I don’t think that was intended as a compliment; more as a warning. Rinnie (blame her) asked me to write a few thoughts on what a gentle and quiet spirit is. I’ve seldom been accused of having one and have certainly never been highlighted as a sterling example. But if I lack one myself, I have been the beneficiary of those qualities in others, so with them as a reference point, I’ll forge on.
If a ‘gentle and quiet spirit’ (see 1 Peter 3:4) is primarily a volume issue, many of us are without hope, though volume may be affected. This kind of spirit requires heart, not larynx, surgery and is probably much harder to come by than a knob that controls volume. Because this phrase is embedded in a passage addressed to women and their responses to the challenges of marriage, we’ve come to think of these as primarily female qualities.
Ironic, then, that two of my primary examples have been the men I’ve been closest to throughout life: Jesus. And Bill. The 1 Peter passage is actually built on the foundation of Jesus’ own example of submission in c.2. ‘Submit’ is a word repeated throughout chapters two and three (the entire Bible, actually) and is trans-gender in calling. Scanning c. 2, I notice at least three contributors to Jesus’ gentle and quiet spirit, shining even under the pain of unjust suffering.
* He is conscious of God (v. 19). More than the circumstance; more than the injustice and false accusation.
* He silences accusations by continuing to do good (v. 15), to the very ones doling out mistreatment.
* He entrusts himself to him who judges justly (v.23). He knows it will ultimately be sorted out. Perfectly. Permanently.
A gentle and quiet spirit is neither passive nor blind. It is, at its core, trusting. Trusting in the One who sees it all and will deal with it in His way and His time. And the miracle of that ongoing transaction in the heart of one with a ‘voice that carries through concrete’ is one more proof of His resurrection to me.
May 13th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Mary, thanks so much for writing about this subject. Having a gentle and quiet spirit is something I have a hard time with. Your article is an encouragement to me.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
The Lord is going to have to keep me on this earth for a very long time for me to achieve a gentle and quiet spirit. It’s alittle easier when you are reading the scriptures. They have a very powerful calming effect. However, my pulse runs at least 90 beats each and every minute and craziness seems to be coming from every direction. It’s these times that “quiet and gentle” seem so hard, if at all possible!