I heard the report of the conversation of a one-time president of our dear country, Nigeria with some visitors one day. As the discussion grew on, the president let them know the humongous amount of power that is concentrated in the hands of anyone in that office. He went on to inform them that if he wielded only as much as a third of the power of his office, a lot of chaos would result. For the peace and progress of the nation, he would rather not exert all that his office permitted. Onlookers may see it as weakness, but the man was exercising gentleness which is better defined as power under control.

“Gentleness is defined as power under control. The more we grow in power, the gentler we must become. When we bring our power under control, we give opportunity to people around us to blossom.”

The Bible speaks copiously about gentleness. It is a vital qualification for ecclesiastical office. Anyone aspiring to the office of the Bishop is expected to be gentle. That office comes with enormous power and responsibility. Without gentleness, the power will be used to harm people rather than lead to godly edification. Jesus demonstrated gentleness, which we have defined as power under control. We know too well that He had the power to punish those who struck Him. He had power to come down from the Cross when the people tied the proof of His Sonship to that. He did not oblige them. That was gentleness at best. In our text, David tied his greatness to God’s gentleness. Had God not kept His power under control, David would have been destroyed ever before he had the chance to make it to the top. The same is true of many people today. We are to follow in the footsteps of God. The more we grow in power, the gentler we must become. When we bring our power under control, we give opportunity to people around us to blossom.