One of the biggest shortfalls for most of us is that we don’t see qualities within ourselves that others recognize. Many of us have God-given gifts that we haven’t recognized until someone tells us about them. A lot of people, some we know some we don’t, will open up to us and tell us about a gift or talent that we possess but we have never thought about being a part of our person.
When I was in middle school, I was friends with a young boy that was getting picked on. He was small in stature and a friendly person, however we were in the same grade with a first-class bully. This bully was mean, he used foul language and he didn’t care who he embarrassed. He was larger than most of the kids in his class because he had stayed in that grade a couple of years.
On one particular day my friend had enough of his bullying and was invited to meet this person after school. Being a mild-mannered young man, my friend wasn’t expected to do anything or even show up for the show down. He completely surprised everyone, even me, when he showed up to face the challenge that had been made. Even though he was probably trembling at the thought of getting a whipping from a larger boy, the courage my friend displayed brought hope to many of his friends.
We are told in Galatians 5:22-23 about the fruits of the Spirit. Gentleness and self-control are two of these fruits and my friend possessed both, even though he may not have realized it. Gentleness is best translated as meekness, which means to be mild or tame. Most people associate this with weakness, but this is a misrepresentation. The world today sees meekness as the opposite of courage, but actually it is the ability to control and temper strength.
Self-control is temperance and mastery of our fleshly desires and passions. My friend showed up that afternoon expecting to defend himself in a fight, however his courage to stand up to this bully and call him out displayed to the crowd, that gathered to watch a fight, that he wasn’t alone in his stance and would stand his ground. Most bullies from the past and today will back down when they are brought to a situation to defend themselves, especially if it is in front of a crowd. I don’t remember if there were any licks passed by these young boys, but I do remember that the bully backed away and didn’t bother my friend again.
My friend had much more strength within himself than he thought he had. I knew he was strong, fast and quick-thinking because he and I had played against and with each other in many sporting events. He didn’t think of himself being a leader among his friends who handled a situation that most of us knew needed to be done. He didn’t realize the courage he had until he was pushed into a corner and realized “enough is enough.”
I saw these qualities in him and I firmly believe when he accepted Jesus into his heart he became a stronger and bolder person. He actually exhibited calmness, tenderness and humility when he faced his opposition on that afternoon. These are the same fruits of the Spirit that Jesus exhibited when He faced adversity also. All of us that know Jesus personally and study His Word will obtain and carry with us these same fruits that He wants us to have.
Some of the times we don’t realize we have these tremendous qualities until we are caught up in a situation, but the people around us recognize our strengths by the way we walk, talk and act.
