“Be gentle with one another, and sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 MSG
Sometimes when I want to give my toddler a piece of my mind, I look at her and then say to myself, “Look how little and clueless she is. Let me change my approach.” I feel that, as God’s children, He also looks at us this way.
And we are also required to look at others this way, thinking through our actions and changing our approach so that we become gentler with each other.
Sometimes impulsive actions get the best of us, making us react without thinking. But to be gentle, sensitive, and forgiving, we must override our default settings with new actions that require intentionality.
It’s like hitting the refresh button every time we want to say or do something nasty. Doing this can’t happen overnight. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, it can.
How can we be gentle, sensitive, and forgiving at work?
The other day, while in a meeting with team members, a key player in that meeting wasn’t present and gave a reason I regarded as an excuse.
I was fuming inside. My breathing was heavy, and the words in my mind were the nastiest I could imagine. I had to excuse myself from the meeting for two minutes, take deep breaths, and ask for help.
On returning to the meeting, the key player arrived and gave her reason for the delay. It all ended there, and we moved on with the meeting agenda.
Was I glad I didn’t say what was on my mind? Yes, I was. Are there other times I said exactly what was on my mind? Definitely.
My point is that to build the discipline needed to fully control our thoughts, emotions, speech, and actions, we need God’s help. What’s most important is recognising the times we lost control and deciding to act differently next time.
“I commit to monitoring my actions towards others and doing better each time.”
This decision will be tested. But with each test, you have someone with you that can help you pass.
We’ve been empowered to be gentle, sensitive, and forgiving with those we work with. Never forget to involve the one who empowered you.
Leave a Reply