Information Related to "Meekness and Gentleness: Strength With a Tender Touch"
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Elephants are so strong they have frequently been used for logging-to
carry large logs and even uproot trees. But these giants are usually gentle,
especially when tamed from a young age.
The elephant's trunk in particular is an example of strength coupled with precise control. Its trunk, with more than 40,000 individual muscles, is strong enough to rip branches from trees but sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass!
The trained elephant illustrates the great value of having both strength and careful gentleness-unlike the proverbial "bull in a china shop."
Compared to English, the Greek language has more precise words for describing the valuable quality of trained animals like elephants and horses. The New Testament uses those same Greek words for a virtue God wants His people to develop.
When the apostle Paul lists "meekness" as the eighth attribute among the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:23 (King James Version), he uses the Greek noun praotes or prautes-and "meekness" is the closest translation for the Greek word used here. (Similarly, the closest English translation for the related Greek adjective praos or praus is "meek.")
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