out of the box and smarmy

introducing a collection of auto-biographical poetry. i found these the other day stuck in a journal, which was stuck in a box, which had been labeled "miscillaneous - 3rd bedroom" in the event of it finding itself in our new house. once i discovered i needed to unpack all those packed boxes, i picked a box at random and pulled out this journal which holds the literature you are about to read. inside were three poems which i authored in college, when i wrote poetry because my professor said i had to. i say they are auto-biographical because they are heavy-laden with the personal pet peeves i obviously had brewing at the time. two attempt to be funny, one tries to be deep - both are certainly not eligible for any other publication than blogdom, and probably not even that. and if the funny ones are indeed funny, it's not because its inherent, but only because they are trying so hard. :)

1. hug theory
a shakespearian sonnet - february 21, 2002
(happened to be dedicated to erin linton, who evidently had the same conviction)

shall i a wishy-washy hug withstand,
or entertain a greeting drained of spice,
or settle for a limp extended hand,
though it tasteless had been offered twice?
what is it you unwittingly confess?
must every friend forebear such apathy?
should sister to her sister proffer less
than that embrace which shows sincerity?
for arms can carry miles of smiles and joy -
a sun that sets with grace on those you meet,
and with a simple hug you but employ
the grander form of love one can entreat.
don't let a dim and dainty lean excite:
if you bestow a hug, then do it right.

(for the record, i do still think a sincere hug is the greatest)

2. (nameless and undedicated...
but we could call it cheese and give it to the precious moments foundation)
Trochaic Tetrameter - february 28, 2002
to compose a baby sleeping,
willow tress with bowers weeping,
even waves of ocean leaping -
do you know how it would go?
to compose in boundless measures
children's tears and hope-filled treasures,
sunsets bold in crimson pleasures -
do you know how it would go?
to compose with sweetest perfume
memories of a family heirloom,
radiance of a bride and bridegroom -
do you know how it would go?
to compose a loved-one's dying,
whispers of a mother sighing,
majesty of eagles flying -
do you know how it would go?
'tis the beauty of composing
inspirations never told -
'tis the beauty of composing
deepest chambers of the soul.

(wow, i especially like how i made points with the sentimentalist agenda by mentioning children weeping. i surely also gainted the endagered species lobbyist support with those majestic eagles flying. in fairness to myself, however, i do remember this question being spawned from my difficutly in composing a song that accurately matched my mood or occasion. my desire to express the sadness i felt at the death of my grandmother in that year 2002 was only frustrated by my lack of ability in translating that sadness into music, in "composing the deepest chambers of the soul.")

3. Oh, Bed!
verses in Iambic meter - march 6, 2002
(dedicated to Khiree Appel, whose phrase it was)

one summer it befriended me,
and i befriended it,
and it weren't long a time before
true dedication hit.
i'd eye it with a longing glance,
i'd leave it with a swoon,
because my heart was loathed to part
from it all afternoon.
i'd long await, anticipate,
at night on my return,
that there be it, and there it be,
and me it would not spurn.
oh bed, oh wondrous bed, i said,
to what shall i compare thee?
a summer's day, a winter's tale?
nay, these but measure plainly.
for ye are warmer than that day
which even summer boasts of,
and through the years, your warmth will be
the gallant thing to toast of.
but anyhoo, what shall i do?
for i can ne'er replace it.
no rocker chair nor sofa fair
could ever commonplace it.
a foe to none, a friend to all,
yet i have gone and lost ya!
oh, nevermind...'twas but a dream...
such comes with influenza.

so, whatd'ya think? am i so the next poet laureate? yah, i thought so. :)
here's to the good poetry that's not of my making.

pogonip

pogonip?? who thought up that one?

anyhoo, joe had most of the day off today (thank you, Lord!) so we went out and did something! we went to The Buttery in Santa Cruz for lunch, and I seriously had the best chicken pot pie I have ever had!! We LOVE this place. It's where we got our wedding cake (cheesecake wedding cake) and it too is the best cheesecake i've ever had. the chicken pot pie reminded me that i have't made chicken pot pie in a pumpkin yet this year ( a martha stewart recipe from like four years ago that beth harding and i made for her parents on fall break...remember beth!? i've made it every year since then!) but this year, i'm too late. joe and i went searching for pumpkins, but with christmas on the move, there were not any in sight. i'm sad to have my tradition broken...but then again, i'm glad not to have to carve out all those slimy pumpkins.

after our luckless pumpkin hunt, we drove. joe likes to just drive, and i don't particularly like it unless there's a goal for which the driving is endured. so we made a deal, and i trusted his driving me "somewhere." that somewhere was one of the main arteries of Pogonip, a sort-of state "park" that's more like some protected land for wildlife habitat and such that stretches along the coast for miles and miles. if you're a pedestrian, or have no more wheels than a bike or skate can afford, you're allowed in. i had always heard about this place (and have always thought the name ridiculous) but had never found it. but, my trusty man can always find anything, especially when he's not looking for it. so, we went for a hike in the sunset. it was cold, but the sun was buttery and warmed our backs. we saw the ocean, the woods, the plains, a couple making out in the grass, and a flock of birds. no other wildlife was spotted, but i did have a great suspicion that there were piles of bugs to be found if you stood still long enough, and couldn't help but think that i could have got a better grade on my bug collection had i had Pogonip out my backdoor. ah well... sorry, dr. wilson.

joe took some fun artsy pictures, as he does so well, and we made a memory of it. it was a perfect november day.

the Buttery - kind of a lame picture, but my view was limited

(speaking of the photo above, not below ;)

hm?

how do you pronounce it, anyway?

yah, the telephone pole kind of distracts from the general splendor

laughing at my man who accidentally just interrupted the two making out in the bushes behind me.

not laughing anymore, let's get out of here!

whoops...sometimes joe forgets how tall he is. let's try again, shall we?...

that's better

a little november silhouette smooch. though that couple was inspiring, this was as far as we went. :)

aw, shucks

11.23.06

we spent thanksgiving with grandpa everett and grandma mae and their friend lillian. she's 90 years old, and even older i think, but you'd never know it. she seemed more spry and witty at 90 than i am at 24! yikes.

since grandma and grandpa couldn't make it out for dinner and family, we brought dinner and family to them! it was so much fun, and a lot easier than i thought it would be. and we gave thanks that Joe had the day off!! here was our menu:

turkey roast

bbq spare ribs (none of us actually felt much like turkey, so i thought this would be a welcome surprise...granma loves ribs!)

roasted garlic and sausage stuffing

twiced baked sweet potatoes

homemade cranberry sauce

sauteed carrots with nutmeg and fresh-squeezed orange juice

sweet and whole wheat rolls from The Buttery

joes' pumpkin cheesecake w/ chocolate chips (oh, it was awesome, good job honey!)

we had the sounds (some of them rather annoying) of the thanksgiving day parade in the background as joe and i danced around grandma's kitchen trying to find where she kept everything. we told grandma to "have a seat," and she made us make ourselves to home. she was tickled pink that she didn't "get" to do a thing. and two hours later we had a piping hot thanksgving meal on the table. after dinner, we finished the day off with half a game of mexican train (we started with double twelves and made it to double sixes, but joe kept on winning every round, so we all got kind of disenchanted with the whole thing and called it a day).

thanks granma and granpa for a cheerful, yummy thanksgiving! we love you. and we give thanks for you, and for all our family.

lillian

joe's pumpkin cheesecake...doesn't actually look that great here, but don't let looks deceive. :)

yah, so, the teddy bear thing is all granma's idea from last year's train extravaganza...lillian was like "uh, what are the bears for?" and when we explained it to her, she looked at us sideways and didn't say anything. instead of using penneys or another marker of some sort to say "i'm up!", we used the bear. though their looks are slightly disturbing, they proved to be rather practical, and so i think we have started a very silly but authentic peterson train tradition.

day for posting

well, joe's been a good and faithful poster with his ss lessons and such, but i have been out of commission as posting agent for a good deal too long. so, without further ado...

life has been CRAZY! let me tell you, if you'd like to find yourselves a hungry time-swallower, try real estate. a lot of you have gone before us in this, and we salute you.

this past month, we almost bought a house. i was even packing. in fact, we were only a few days from getting the keys, and a day out from telling you all! but, long story short, we chose not to buy it...and if you want the long story, your ear must be ready and able to give a sizeable donation. though the road to and from this house was a rocky one, we know that God's hand carved that road out specifically for us, and we haved learned much.

so today, the day before THANKSGIVING, we are giving thanks with all our hearts for our cozy apartment which we still have, wood floors, and new coffee table (picture later! it's super cute!) We also give thanks for our lack of closet space, absence of dishwasher, and ant invasions. better is a humble meal in peace than a feast in strife - and so we PRAISE God and we thank Him for not allowing us to tumble headlong into something that might have become anything but a blessing (even with a dishwasher!), but preserving us in His will.

and for the record, lest you think that we insanely woke up one morning, in our california beds, and said to ourselves, "hey, lets buy a house!" think again...the reason why we went looking in the first place is part of the long story which is ready for any marathon-minded ears.

WE WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY THANKSGIVING! and we thank our God and Father for ALL His kindnesses to us, including this very breath, and the great, abiding peace in which we can eat our meals, whether humble or great.

Fruit of the Spirit : Week Seven

And the Fruit of the Spirit is Faithfulness.

If there was a sentence that described all the fruit and their trajectories, it would be this:

In a life characterized by faithfulness and self-control, one will exhibit love, joy, peace, and patience, through the hands of kindness, in light of goodness, and by means of gentleness.

Faithfulness is one of those foundational qualities, without which the others just don’t make sense, or are even truly possible. Faithfulness is defined as such: long-continued and steadfast fidelity to whatever one is bound to by a pledge, duty, or obligation. 39 times in Scripture the phrase ‘steadfast love’ and the word ‘faithfulness’ are found together referring to the same thing. These two ideas are very closely related. Steadfast love is faithfulness. To love steadfastly is to be faithful, faithful to a person, an idea, a task, or whatever. To have the quality of faithfulness means to actively maintain a constant position through whatever circumstances. Think of a ship’s anchor, and its usefulness in a storm. The wind and waves are tossing the ship about, but the anchor holds firm, fixed in the ground, allowing the ship to remain in the same position. That ship is remaining faithful to the course it set, and is not swerving despite the wind and waves. However it is doing so through actively maintaining a firm hold on the ground through the aid of the anchor. The ship is fixed, and faithful to its goal. This is a picture of our life as Christians. We are pursued by the wind and waves of false doctrine and by the temptations of the world, and we are called to remain faithful. We can only do so through the anchor of Christ, through which we have a firm and fixed hold on God and His truth and unchangeable character, in which is the hope of salvation.

Heb 6:17-20 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Our Faithfulness to God

We are called to be faithful to Scripture. It is our life and contains the words of life. It is the word of our Christ, Jesus. We are called to be faithful to God. What does this mean? How does this look? In this context, faithfulness means obedience. Faithfulness means a steadfast commitment to obeying God’s word to us in Christ, and in the Bible. This is what it means to live a faithful life. Naturally this requires faith, the foundation to a life of faithfulness. By faith, we trust and know that God is God, and is at work to will and to do, and is paving the path before us, giving us the feet to walk ahead. This faith originates with our Father, and He grants it to us, allowing our naturally sinful flesh to stop sinning, and to obey. We are given the ability to obey. We are given the ability to remain faithful. We remember of course that this comes from the strength and the power of the Spirit. But we are called to be faithful, and we can.

So we are faithful to God in that we obey His word. This affects every aspect of our lives. It affects our thoughts, actions, and worldviews. Our thoughts are to be pure and based in truth. Phil 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Whatever we think, in whatever place, in whatever surroundings, our thoughts are holy, and faithful. Jesus says on the Sermon on the Mount that whosoever wishes that a man was dead in his heart, it is as if he has committed murder. His thoughts are enough to condemn him.

Our actions are faithful to Christ in that they exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. Our actions are love, joy, peace, and patience through the hands of Kindness, Goodness, and Gentleness. We exhibit steadfast love to our neighbor. This means selfless love: giving up what we want, and seeing the needs of others as more important than our own.

Our worldview is faithful in that we approach every decision, every choice, every thought and action, from a firm belief in the validity of truth as it is revealed in Scripture. We Honor God as God and Give Him thanks. That is our worldview, meaning we approach everything in that frame of mind. Is what I am thinking right now honoring God and an expression of gratitude? Is what I am doing right now honoring God and an expression of gratitude?

2Co 10:5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Our Faithfulness to One Another

We live in community, locally and globally. We live in connection with other people. Living in the Spirit means a life of faithfulness, and that has feet outside of our prayer closets, and in the streets we travel. What does that look like? Part of it was mentioned above, that selfless love is the rule of the day. We consider others before ourselves. This means opening the door for your sister, giving your brother the last cookie, obeying your parents, and so on. The other part is a sense of loyalty to people outside of yourself. This is another angle of selflessness. Christians need to be dedicated to one another. This is part of the command we have from Christ, to love one another, for by this the world will know we are His disciples. A sense of belonging to a community, a deeper city, is essential to the life of a Christian. A Christian in isolation is doomed, and apart from the grace of God will fall by the way. We were not created to be in isolation, but rather in community. This means living with people: sinful people. Faithfulness to a group of sinners takes great humility. We recognize that we all of us are sinners, and we all of us have received the magnificent grace of God, and to deny fellowship to someone whom God has granted fellowship is arrogance and spits in the face of Christ. Jesus died for that person, and we don’t receive him into fellowship because we don’t see eye to eye. Here we make ourselves out to be God, extending fellowship based on our standards. This flies in the face of Christian love. The only response to our brethren is steadfast love. Steadfast love extends fellowship no matter what color shoes the other person wears. Steadfast love loves through wind and waves, is devoted and true, and faithful. Another word for this is constant. Christians need to be described as being constant, cornerstones, solid. This is a life of faithfulness. What does this look like? James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Faithfulness gets dirty and lives in a real world, brining soup to the homeless, toys to the orphans, and blankets to the widows. This all is a steadfast love for and dedication to others. Upper room service toward the world, and our brother and neighbor first. Faithfulness to yourself will mean neglecting everyone for the sake of your own comfort. Faithfulness to others will mean neglecting your own comfort for the sake of everyone.

God’s Faithfulness to His Children

Our every reason for being faithful to others is summed up in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. While we were in the very throes of sin and wickedness, Christ for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, and the shame, counting it as nothing. For the purpose of redeeming, purchasing, for Himself a people, a bride. Therefore, if Christ did this for us, how can we not do likewise? Are we better than Christ? Are we above forgiving, and living in harmony and community? Our Father has been, and continues to be faithful to us on two counts. The first is our redemption. From the beginning of time, we have set apart for the purpose of glorifying God, through the salvation brought by Christ. We were set apart as that people, that bride. Every promise, starting with the promise He gave Eve in the garden stating that the Serpent’s head will be crushed, has been fulfilled, and we await the final fulfillment, the promise of the resurrection. But God has spoken and has been faithful to His word. He speaks, and it is as good as done. He is faithful to abide by His promises. The second is our daily provisions. How we live day to day is completely due to the faithfulness of God. Were we left on our own, completely and utterly, we would perish. Even the very fact that our lungs are breathing right now, is a blessing coming from the faithfulness of God. Were He to be unfaithful in any way, the universe would simply collapse. It is bound together by the power and truth of His word, and if His word is not true, all is unraveled.

Mat 6:25-33 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

In Conclusion

We have no reason to doubt the faithfulness of God towards us. He provides eternal life and every day life. We in return are called to be faithful to those around us. It is a picture painted by the Spirit, that He is waiting to hang on the wall of our life. He is teaching us to destroy the shameful copy of His work, our copy being faithfulness to self, and exhibit the original. Here we are again. This is how we honor God as God, and give Him thanks. We show God honor and gratitude as we live faithfully to His word, and to one another. So dedicate yourself to Scripture, loving to read it over and over again. And dedicate yourself to the service of others, in whatever field you end up in, whether that be plumbing or teaching, electrical work or the ministry. The trajectory of your job, your earthly efforts need to be toward serving others, and in doing that you are serving God. “When you did it to the least of one of these, you did it to me.”

Fruit of the Spirit: Week Six

And the Fruit of the Spirit is Kindness, Goodness, and Gentleness.
We are combining these three in one lesson because they are three different sides of one triangle. They describe the WHAT, WHY and HOW of Love. They are the result of Joy and Peace, and the labor of Patience. They stem from a life of cultivated Faithfulness and Self Control, which we will talk about next week. Here is how it looks broken out:

With What, Why, and How do I Love my brother?
With Kind words, Good intentions, and Gentle manners.
If Joy and Peace describe my life, my actions will be Kind, Good, and Gentle.
When Patience is at work, his work can be described as Kind, Good, and Gentle.
If I am faithful to God and His Word, and am able to control my thoughts and actions, I will be Kind to all, Good in the forgiving eyes of God, and Gentle with those around me.

These three fruits describe the action, motive, and execution (the what, why, and how) of our relations with people around us. This becomes a simple way to hold our actions accountable, and examine them according to the standard of Scripture. Whenever you do anything to anybody, you should ask yourself, Is what I am doing Kind in a Christian Sense? Are my reasons Good (in a Godly moral sense)? Is how I am going to proceed with this action Gentle, in a Christ-like manner? If the answers to these questions are honestly, in the sight of God Almighty, yes, then it is a good bet that you are not sinning in doing what you are doing. If however, you answer no to just one of the questions, it is a good bet that one, you are sinning, and two, the answer is no to the other questions as well. In other words, you are either being Kind, Good, and Gentle together, or not at all. You cannot be Kind, and not Good or Gentle. In not being Good, you are not being Kind. And so on. They mutually indwell one another, a packaged deal, a three for one. However, these words can be oversimplified if we are not careful. Our modern age of sentimentalism has turned kindness into niceness, goodness into traditional values-ness, and gentleness into weakness. So lets define further these three fruits, and see how they come out in Scripture.

The What: Kindness
A sampling of Kindness in Scripture

Gen 19:19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there--is it not a little one?--and my life will be saved!" He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.

Rth 3:9 He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer." And he said, "May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.

2 Sa 9:1 And David said, "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "I am your servant." And the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?" Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet." The king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar." Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, "Mephibosheth!" And he answered, "Behold, I am your servant." And David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always."

Psa 141:5 Let a righteous man strike me--it is a kindness; let him rebuke me--it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.

Tit 3:4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.


The gist of all these passages is redemption and salvation. Christ is the ultimate Kindness. He is God’s kindness to us. Kindness therefore means an action done without regard to the state of the receiving party. Kindness is the Samaritan on the road to Jericho, beholding a Jew, beaten on the way, and disregarding all protocol and cultural dos and don’ts, picks him up and cares for him. Kindness is giving to another without a thought to whether or not they are deserving of what you give them. God gave Christ to us, while we were yet Sinners. This is divine kindness, giving to another in their sin.

Kindness, defined by redemption, means much more than simply being nice. You are nice to two different groups of people. One group is those who like you, and it is easy to be nice. Scripture says, “What is that, for even sinners do so.” The other group is those who don’t like you, and you have to be nice, despite inward feelings of apathy, bitterness, or even outright hatred. Kindness on the other hand has the prerequisite of love. Love requires the destruction of apathy, bitterness and hatred. Love is inward and outward, else it is not love. Kindness comes out of love, is that hands of love, and that means comes from a heart of love, whether or not the people you are kind to like you. Kindness must be genuine or else it is not kindness, it is outward appearance which is niceness. An empty shell, devoid of all truth.

Kindness, again defined by redemption, also means the death of sin, and of the natural man. At the heart of the Kindness of God toward us is death. But not the kind that stays dead. Death that leads to new life means the death of Death itself. This is inevitably painful, for death means change, and death brings change. Therefore kindness is often excruciatingly painful. Remember Psalm 141:5: Let a righteous man strike me--it is a kindness; let him rebuke me--it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Discipline is hard, and hurts. But it is kindness, for the end result is godliness. True kindness builds up, and edifies.

The difference between kindness and its false counterpart niceness is simple, but it requires wisdom to understand it. Kindness hurts in order to do something; niceness does nothing, and thereby hurts. Kindness boldly addresses issues, dealing with sin; niceness silently runs away, abdicating responsibility. Kindness offends sensibilities that need to be offended, bringing life out of death; niceness is sensitive to offending, and therefore allows death to fester, and grow hard.


The Why: Goodness
The motivation behind every action we do, needs to be described as holy. If it is not holy, it is selfish and God despises it. The works become as filthy rags and stink. This means living life selflessly. This is impossible to do outside of God’s salvation and redemption in Christ, and the sanctification and purification of the Holy Spirit. The trap here is falling into what has become known as Traditional Values. ‘Traditional values’ (TV) is the moral code of the 1950’s and the false counterpart of Goodness, or Holiness. What does it mean to hold to TV? The common tag line of this lifestyle is “Don’t smoke, don’t chew, don’t run with girls that do.” It is not doing anything that resembles, however faintly, what the world does. The world smokes, therefore I wont. At the heart of TV is legalism, for TV means fulfilling the law, for the sake of the law. This makes it antithetical to Scripture. We set up laws that are nowhere found in Scripture, to keep us from doing things that people in Scripture righteously do. Upholding Traditional Values is not holiness. It is a man made standard, and therefore man-centered. Which brings us back to the original premise: if it is not holy, it is selfish. If it is holy, it is by definition, self-less. So what is our motivation for doing anything? Is it because we want something in return? Do you give your brother a cookie, in order to receive a cookie? Or do you give your brother a cookie, in order to give your brother a cookie? If the end result is so that you get something, whatever you did, however generous and helpful it was, it is selfish and God hates it. But if you give in order to give, no matter how small or insignificant it is, God loves it and rewards it. But we don’t give in order to give in order to receive a reward. That is testing God, and “We shall not put the Lord our God to the test.” God is wise, and sees the heart and the inward thought of man. Psalm 51:6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Are your actions done in truth, inwardly? Are they done with an expectation to receive back? If so they are an evil, and you are no better than the natural man you put to death in Christ. But God is kind, and teaches us to act selflessly, for we reflect Him, and He is Holy, and wholly Good.

The How: Gentleness
Tit 3:1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show humility toward all people.

In our modern era that is fixated on power, those in power will use intimidation in order to stay in power. Tyranny (roughness, violence) is strong; gentleness is weak. Scripture says otherwise. Psalm 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. Mat 5:5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Those who insist on true power loose true power. Those who do not seek power, because they recognize the terrible responsibilities it brings, are given it against their wishes. Humble love is incredibly powerful. Those who grasp lose; those who do not grasp, are given.

Gentleness is comprised of three things: patience, humility, and meekness. A gentle person is patient with others, letting love cover multitudes of sin, is humble, putting others first, and is meek, not in any way selfishly demanding. This might seem like weakness. It might seem like doormat theology. But Christ is called gentle, and meek, and He is by no means weak. His gentleness is strength, and leads people to salvation. This does not mean that every situation calls for silence. Christ shows us this in His response to the Pharisees. This is gentleness, and therefore causes us to rethink how gentleness acts. Patience does not mean never confronting. Humility does not mean never dealing with sin in a direct way. Meekness does not mean never demanding obedience. This is how gentleness has come to mean weakness, because these aspects have been forgotten. But they are essential to what gentleness is. They are essential to Godliness.

The false counterpart to Gentleness is pride. In pride we respond hastily, because our needs require attention, arrogantly, because our toes are being stepped on, and selfishly, because our goals deserve recognition. Pride is evil, and a vestige of the old man.

All Together Now
This is how our actions need to be described: as kind, not nice, good, not selfish, and as gentle, not prideful. If our What is Nice, and our Why is Selfish, and our How is Prideful, then the old man is still at work, and God is not being honored. Love is replaced by Hate; Joy and Peace turn into depression and anxiety; faithfulness and self-control are nowhere to be found. But a life in which every action is held to the standards of Kindness, Goodness, and Gentleness, is a life rich with God’s blessing. This is at the core of being remade in the image of Christ. We were first created in the image of God. We are re-created in the image of His Son. This is how we love. This is how the love of Christ is spread to the four corners of the earth. This is how we honor God, and give Him thanks.