by Ken Green<\/p>\n
“Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand<\/em>” (Philippians 4:5 ESV).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
“Let’s be reasonable, shall we?” We don’t usually say (or hear) those words till we’re in a conflict that has escalated well beyond reasoning.<\/p>\n
Paul says we should be known for being reasonable. It starts with rejecting unreasonableness and embracing reason. A reasonable mind is much more likely to possess peace and joy. In fact, a good, working synonym for “reasonableness” is “gentleness” as used in the NKJV. For many of us, gentleness isn’t natural. It’s the pure product of the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us. And it’s a very good thing.<\/p>\n
Gentleness is not unnecessarily rigorous. We see people with veins pounding in their foreheads, and making demands or letting off steam, upset often beyond what the situation rightly allows. They are unnecessarily rigorous and often unreasonable.<\/p>\n
When Paul coaches us: “Let your reasonableness [or gentleness] be known to everyone,” he means we shouldn’t be unnecessarily rigorous where a perceived right is the issue. These are some of the key phrases in an unreasonable rant: “I deserve better.” “I am not going to let you.” “I have a right.” “It’s not fair that . . . “<\/p>\n
Reasonableness or gentleness doesn’t exert its rights. You don’t always have to have your rights or demand your way or set the record straight. You don’t need to go around stamping out every false report. Be reasonable.<\/p>\n
A reasonable person can yield to better information and good advice. Some of us have to work hard at this. If we’re thinking doggedly of something from one angle and a better approach is suggested, can we yield to it?<\/p>\n
Reasonable people can be reasoned with. They can change their opinions based on new information and graciously concede that it is a better solution. Think of how much peace of mind you could have if you always yielded to better information. Consider how much unrest and conflict flows from stubbornly, unreasonably insisting on your own way.<\/p>\n
And why should we let our “reasonableness be known to everyone<\/em>“? Consider the biblical reason: “The Lord is at hand<\/em>.” He is coming . . . soon! And we’re to live our temporal lives in light of this eternal reality. When the skies break open, we don’t want to be tied in knots over things that are ultimately insignificant. Let’s be reasonable, shall we?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Ken Green “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand” (Philippians 4:5 ESV). “Let’s be reasonable, shall we?” We don’t usually say (or hear) those words till we’re in a conflict that has escalated well beyond reasoning. Paul says we should be known for being reasonable. It starts with rejecting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1366,1057,36],"class_list":["post-39561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-gentleness","tag-persuasion","tag-reasoning"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37813,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/kindness\/","url_meta":{"origin":39561,"position":0},"title":"Kindness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 12:9-21 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When a person walks as the Spirit directs, it produces a fruit that has many attributes - Galatians 5:13-25 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We will focus on one of those attributes today: kindness. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0chrestotes is a form of the word for usefulness. It means kindness, goodness,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66482,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/two-testimonial-testaments-to-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":39561,"position":1},"title":"Two Testimonial Testaments to Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Paul \"reasoned\" with the Jews for three Sabbaths (Acts 17:2f) from the Scriptures (their own Scriptures). Thus, he started with what both sides agreed was true. The Scriptures had long been settled as true and authoritative to both sides participating in the discussion. The Scriptures would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39438,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-good-to-talk-about-why-you-object-to-sins-when-others-react-in-hostility\/","url_meta":{"origin":39561,"position":2},"title":"Is it good to talk about why you object to sins when others react in hostility?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Mr. Hamilton, First and foremost,\u00a0thank you and the La Vista Church of Christ for the great Christian example you have set. I too am part of the churches of Christ (Romans 16:16). My question to you is how should I conduct online teachings? Just recently, I've started visiting sites\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45868,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/faith-is-reasonable\/","url_meta":{"origin":39561,"position":3},"title":"Faith Is Reasonable","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Faith is reasonable because trust, which is the heart of biblical faith, is reasonable. Faith does not require that every question be resolved before it can proceed, for that would not be considered trust. A child does not wait for parents to answer every question about difficult\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/trust-246x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":93912,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/harvesting-the-fruit-of-his-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":39561,"position":4},"title":"Harvesting the Fruit of His Spirit","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Randall Caselman When Jesus genuinely, truly comes into our lives, things change. Opening our hearts to His presence means we'll never be the same. Go with me to a well outside the city of Sychar. Jesus, tired from the journey, sat down by the well. A Samaritan woman came.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44094,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/walk-worthily\/","url_meta":{"origin":39561,"position":5},"title":"Walk Worthily","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/walking-240x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39561\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}