That "Gentle and Quiet Spirit"

I’ve heard so many women over the years bemoan the verse in the Bible that lauds a “gentle and quiet spirit.” (I Peter 3:4)  Most of them feel guilty because they wouldn’t describe themselves as gentle and quiet.  I’m pretty sure only a small percentage of women are both gentle and quiet.  It’s a particular personality type that I certainly do not possess. 

But I think we can assuage a lot of the guilt by reading the verse again.  I’m no Greek scholar, but I checked a multitude of translations and all of them specify that this is a gentle and quiet spirit not personality.  There’s a big difference there.

You can be loud and brash and colorful and active and talkative and the life of the party, and still have a gentle and quiet spirit.  Your spirit is inside you; it’s your heart and mind and “inner self,” as the NIV says.  If you have a gentle and quiet spirit, you are at ease with yourself and others and God.  You are not anxious.  You are at peace.  One translation words it as a “tranquil spirit” (New English Translation) and one says a “calm disposition” (New American Bible Revised).  The Amplified Bible explains it’s a spirit “that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious, but serene and spiritually mature.”

This is the kind of calm that can be seen in the eye of a storm.  Psalm 46 contains the oft-quoted verse “Be still, and know that I am God.”  But this doesn’t necessarily mean literally still, so don’t quote this to your kids during church to scare them into sitting quietly.  On the contrary, Psalm 46 is about chaos and disaster, referencing earthquakes and floods and nations in uproar and kingdoms falling.  And toward the end of this tumultuous psalm comes this encouragement:  “Be still and know that I am God.”  He’s saying, don’t stress – I’ve got this.  Stay calm; I’m the one in charge.  Have a gentle and quiet spirit because I love you and I am God. 

So you can be in the middle of Covid-19 chaos or you can be the loud leader of a social revolution or you can be a magnetic social media personality and still have a gentle and quiet spirit, because your faith is in God.