June 8, 2009—Prautes: What is that?
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 7, 8, 9; Ephesians 4
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:1–3
Observation
The word I honed in on in these verses today is “gentleness,” because it fits in with what God has been speaking to me for the past number of days. As I was going through Proverbs recently, two of the verses that stood out to me were Proverbs 16:32, “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city,” and Proverbs 25:28, “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.”
The key concept here is having rule over your own spirit. In Ephesians 4 Paul asserts that gentleness is one of the qualities which demonstrates that I am walking worthy of the calling with which I have been called. The Greek word for gentleness is prautes, and it has a broader meaning than merely “gentleness.” The Word Wealth entry in the Spiritual Life Bible has one of the best descriptions of the meaning of prautes I’ve seen anywhere: “A disposition that is even-tempered, tranquil, balanced in spirit, unpretentious, and that has the passions under control. The word is best translated “meekness, ” not as an indication of weakness, but of power and strength under control. The person who possesses this quality pardons injuries, corrects faults, and rules his own spirit well.”
Aristotle described the link between anger and ruling one’s spirit well in his definition of prautes: “It is neither too hasty-tempered nor too slow-tempered, nor does it get angry with the people with whom it ought not, or fail to get angry with those with whom it ought.”
The new testament is full of directives that involve prautes. In Galatians 5 it is one of the fruit of the Spirit. It is used in reference to the Christian discipline of others (2 Corinthians 10:1 and Galatians 6:1), in facing opposition (2 Timothy 2:24–25 and Numbers 12:3 (Septuagint)), in defending the faith (1 Peter 3:4 and 3:15), and instructing others (James 1:21, 3:13). It is used as a description of the character of Christ in 2 Corinthians 10:1. It doesn’t take long to start getting the picture that prautes is a vital element in the mature Christian life.
Application
The good news for me today is that prautes is part of the fruit of the Spirit. God himself is overflowing with prautes, and he desires to develop it in my life until it is woven into the depths of my character. Romans 8:5–6 says, “…for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” My job today is to make sure I set my mind and heart on following him, and to allow his Spirit to do the deep work in me that will bring his attributes to bear in my life.
Prayer
Father, I love you and want to be more like you. I desire a character that looks like yours, and a temper that is under the rule of your Spirit. Please help me to set my mind on the things of the Spirit today, and build your prautes in me I pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.
[...] tranquil, balanced in spirit, unpretentious, and that has the passions under control.” (See full post on prautes from June 8). It relates to ruling my spirit well (kind of like Proverbs 16:32), and, hmmm, if [...]
[...] work in my heart today. I want to be able to experience the reality of “Blessed are the meek [praus], for they shall inherit the earth.” Amen. Bookmark [...]