Choosing Gentleness When You Have Influence
When people look to you for guidance, your tone carries weight. A child, a newer colleague, or someone in a group you lead may remember how you spoke long after the conversation ends.
Opponents must be gently instructed,
(2 Timothy 2:25, NIV, excerpt)
Paul instructed Timothy to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. As the Lord’s servant, Timothy was to teach with kindness and gentleness, seeking the repentance of those who opposed the truth. His teaching was meant to serve their restoration through God’s work.
Use your influence to help someone learn
The passage speaks directly to Timothy’s ministry, and it gives Christians a pattern to consider wherever we guide others: truthful instruction joined to patient concern for the person receiving it.
Before correcting someone, make the issue clear in your own mind. Explain what needs attention, give a specific example, and offer an appropriate next step. Leave room for questions.
If you lead a group, notice whether people can ask for help without being embarrassed. You might invite a quieter person’s question or offer to explain something again. In a family, calm repetition can help a child understand an expectation.
Bring your influence before Jesus in prayer. Ask Him to guard you from resentment and make you attentive to the good of those you serve. A gentle manner can carry serious truth with care.
A prayer
Jesus, teach me to guide others with patience and truth. Guard my heart from resentment. Help me use the influence I have for another person’s good, with humility before You. Amen.
Read 2 Timothy 2:22-26 in the NIV.
Keep reading: A Prayer for a Patient Reply · Praying for the People Who Teach Your Church.
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Influence is an opportunity to carry truth with gentleness.
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