A Gentle and Quiet Spirit

with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

1 Peter 3:4

In this chapter, Peter is speaking to women, but I believe this verse applies to men as well. In the previous verses, he is warning against all kinds of external adornments. And he then says that we should instead have the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit. We live in a world dominated by bold, loud people who sing their own praises. Politicians make bold promises and praise themselves. Advertisements encourage us to be selfish. We see very few servant leaders. When was the last time you heard of a leader who took Jesus for his role model? Serving other people is nearly a lost art. Yet, this is what God wants us to do. He wants us to have the servanthood traits of gentleness and quietness.

God has taught me many things about serving in the past several years. It's been a great blessing to me. Yet, it hasn't always been easy. Giving up my desires to be served, to lead, to be on top, to be heard came hard. But, in giving up these things, I've been blessed with better relationships with God and those around me. I'm not finished with this journey, but I'm looking forward to where God wants to take me next.

Lord, thank You for the lessons You've taught me. Thank You for being patient with me when it took a long time to learn. Help me to continue to be open to learn and to teach others what I've learned. I praise You for  the blessings that this has brought in my life.

Thank you also to Benjamin Lichtenwalner at modernservantleader.com for his frequent inspiration on the topic of servant leadership.