One
of my writer-friends chooses a “word of the year” as a spiritual
focus. I decided to do the same and last year chose “grace.” I
signed much of my correspondence “in grace,” as a token of
needing God's grace to get through challenging situations (the
pandemic being just one of them!). As 2021 ended, a companion word
kept coming to mind as my focus for 2022. It's gracious. This
adjective is defined as “courteous, kind, and pleasant.”
An internet definition site adds
this Christian perspective: “showing divine grace.”
I
regularly read through Proverbs (its 31 chapters provide a good daily
“dose”) and find myself pausing at verses about graciousness.
Proverbs 11:16 in the New King James Version says: “A gracious
woman retains honor.” In the NIV, my usual devotional Bible, it's
“A kindhearted woman gains respect.” Beside that verse I had
written “Ruth B.,” an older neighbor who was supremely gracious
and helpful to me in the year
after my parents died and I was tasked with probate and emptying out
the family home. She helped, she listened, she loved on me.
Because
translators work so hard to find just the right equivalent word, I
went to my Bible reference books to learn more. The highlight word
(“gracious” in KJV and NASB, and “kindhearted” in NIV) is
from the Hebrew chen or
hen, whose root means
“favor” or “grace.” A similar word is used in Exodus 34:6 of
God when His “presence” in some blinding, supernatural way passed
by curious Moses, hidden in the cleft of a rock.
Two Old Testament women
especially personified this trait. One was Ruth, the Moabite widow
who left her pagan homeland to follow and care for her widowed,
embittered mother-in-law, returning to Naomi's hometown of
Bethlehem. There, Ruth met Boaz, a good man who took her as a wife.
From that union, generations later, came King David. But in their
“love story,” Ruth's gracious choice found favor with people of
her new land and—more important—with God. A big lesson there is
that we need to bless God despite our circumstances, trusting Him to
bring good of them.
Another example (1 Samuel 25) is Abigail,
married to a surly land baron named Nabal. Before becoming king,
David and his ragtag followers were a type of volunteer militia,
helping local ranchers with a freelance police force. Their pay was
whatever food the “protected” could provide. Selfish Nabal
refused and David (to his discredit) decided to attack. Enter Nabal's
gracious wife, who turned back the impending attack with food
supplies and an apology for her husband's brutishness, plus a reminder
of the bad consequences that could come of David's brashness. Her
gracious actions defused a tense situation. And, in a story that
seemed scripted for Hollywood, Nabal had an apparent heart attack or stroke when he learned what had happened. Ten days later he was dead. Abigail's graciousness gave her a second chance at a happier life. That story holds
lessons for my own encounters with difficult people.
Our words really do reflect our
hearts. Ecclesiastes 10:12 (NKJV) says, “The words of a wise man's
mouth are gracious.” The apostle Paul admonished Christians to live
out graciousness through words of kindness and truth (Colossians
3:12, 13).
And
so...gracious. I have
posted that word on my computer's screen as a daily reminder of one
more way that God can work in and through me.
