-
Mildness—Strength or Weakness?The Watchtower—1976 | August 15
-
-
Jesus said of himself: “I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart.” (Matt. 11:29) Yet he was firm when necessary. When an officer of the Jewish high priest slapped Jesus during his trial, Jesus said: “If I spoke wrongly, bear witness concerning the wrong; but if rightly, why do you hit me?” (John 18:22, 23) Jesus also corrected the apostle Peter very forcefully when Peter unwittingly tried to break Jesus’ integrity.—Matt. 16:21-23.
On the other hand, even though Jesus had great power at his command (he could summon twelve legions of angels at any time), he never became harsh or unreasonable. (Matt. 26:53) Though he did good and never exalted himself, he was treated far worse than a slave but, as the apostle Peter said: “When he was being reviled, he did not go reviling in return. When he was suffering, he did not go threatening, but kept on committing himself to the one who judges righteously.”—1 Pet. 2:23.
-
-
Mildness—Strength or Weakness?The Watchtower—1976 | August 15
-
-
When the woman Abigail appealed to David, it was not so much the softness of Abigail’s tone, but her strong, sensible argument, yet at the same time her being respectful and mild, that turned David back from the heat of anger when he was on his way to slaughter Nabal’s household. Abigail said to David:
“Please, do not let my lord set his heart upon this good-for-nothing man Nabal, for, as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and senselessness is with him. . . . And now, my lord, as Jehovah is living and as your soul is living, Jehovah has held you back from entering into bloodguilt and having your own hand come to your salvation. . . . Because Jehovah will do to my lord the good toward you according to all that he has spoken.”—1 Sam. 25:23-35.
Likewise, Gideon gave a mild answer with wisdom to the tribe of Ephraim, which tried to pick a quarrel with him. Gideon was not commissioned by God to engage in intertribal warfare, and he did not want trouble with Ephraim. His mild reply disarmed them completely. He answered: “What now have I done in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape gathering of Abiezer [or, the Abiezrites, Gideon’s fellow warriors]? It was into your hand that God gave Midian’s princes Oreb and Zeeb, and what have I been able to do in comparison with you?” As a result, “their spirit calmed down toward him.” True mildness brings forth mildness on the part of others.—Judg. 8:1-3.
-