Read: James
3:13-18
But the
wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good
fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. James 3:17
Countless
men throughout history have been noted for the way they have conducted
themselves even in the midst of trials and unbelievably stressful situations.
For example, when George Washington was fourteen years old, he wrote out the
110 Rules of Civility – rules that guide the behavior of a man; and he
persistently followed them throughout the rest of his life. Robert E. Lee, as a
father, an army commander, and later, as a college president, wrote letters to
his sons, soldiers, and students that stressed to the them the importance of
possessing manly character. Stonewall Jackson’s reputation preceded him as a
man of high integrity. Each of these men possessed at least one common
character trait – they were gentleman.
Part of growing into the man God wants you
to become is practicing to be that man right now. You are not just going to
wake up one morning and find out that you are a gentleman if you have not been
practicing to be one all along. It all starts with this principle: Being a
gentleman is not something you do from time-to-time; being a gentleman is who
you are. Being a gentleman is a way of life. You don’t open a door for a lady,
for example, because you decided to be a gentleman and open it; you open the
door for the lady because you are a gentleman and that is what gentlemen do.
You don’t respect authority because the situation required it or because you had
no comeback against what he said; you respect authority because you are a
gentleman and that is what gentlemen do.
Living the life of a gentleman sometimes
gets looked at in a negative light because people focus too much on the first
part of the word – gentle. There is nothing wrong with being gentle, but it
gets associated with being weak. That is not the case for a man who is
gentlemanly, for the focus really belongs on the last half of that word –
manly. Being a gentleman really is the most manly way you could live. Treating
others with the respect and dignity they deserve trumps a chest-thumping,
ego-centric guy who thinks he has the right to treat others in any way he
chooses, simply because he happened to be born a male. The principles of being
a gentleman fit hand-in-hand with the Biblical principles of manhood. Start
practicing today to live as the gentleman God wants you to become.
Quote of
the day: “Being a gentleman requires a little logic, a bit of forethought, and
a great deal of consideration for others.” – John Bridges
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