A New Kind Of Power

Nov 26, 2020

A few years ago, Rosanna and I visited Hearst castle, the home of publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst.

We toured the never-ending property with a handful of other tourists. As the guide took us from room to room and told us story after story, it was hard to not think about what drove someone to build a place like this. Every room was the finest and the best. It wasn’t just marble flooring; it was hand stained Italian marble flooring flown in from Venice. I didn’t see any plastic. As I left, I thought about how interesting it is that we idolize indulgence, but we scoff at restraint. I’ve walked the halls of vacant missions up and down the coast, viewed the humble quarters of deceased monks, and never once have I wanted to read a book on one of their lives. However, true power and magnificence lies in restraint, not indulgence. That’s what Paul means when he says have the fruit of the Spirit of gentleness.

Gentleness is your power under control, not your power run wild.

You can apply this to all areas of your life. Do we celebrate the life that indulges the senses sexually and financially? Is the person we place on the pedestal the one who sleeps with who they want and buys whatever they want? Do we celebrate the person who brow beats the world around them into submission to their will? In gentleness, we are given an alternative. We are invited to see the indulgent life, and to have the power to resist it through the Spirit. That’s power.

Chuck Swindoll, the great 20th century preacher once said it this way:

“In our rough and rugged individualism, we think of gentleness as weakness, being soft and virtually spineless. Not so! Gentleness includes such enviable qualities as having strength under control, being calm and peaceful when surrounded by a heated atmosphere, emitting a soothing effect on those who may be angry or otherwise beside themselves, and possessing tact and gracious courtesy that causes others to retain their self-esteem and dignity.”