You're listening to the Hard Men Podcast, reclaiming is Eric Con. I'll be your host today for this episode.

What I want to do today is take a look at a question that was sent to me by one of our

listeners.

I thought it was an excellent question, and I think it's a question that a lot of people are probably

asking.

So as we answer this today, I hope it's helpful.

So I'm going to read the question. Here it is.

While niceness in the modern sense is not a virtue.

Gentleness and kindness are fruits of the spirit.

These fruits of the spirit exist in the new man.

Jesus, the true man, calls himself gentle and lowly in heart.

My struggle as a man is the balance of hardness, as you've talked about,

and gentleness.

I don't want to be a pushover without firm convictions and strength, but I often fail to soften my words for my audience, including my wife and children.

Over and over men are reminded not to be harsh in scripture.

So here's the question.

How should gentleness be defined?

And then secondly, what practices help cultivate the virtue of gentleness without being weak and against

an imbalance manliness that fails to incorporate the biblical standard in its fullness.

So the first thing I want to do today is just take a little bit of time to go through

exegesis, look at a couple Bible passages and answer the first question, what is the

scriptural definition of gentleness and by that, what does it mean for us to be gentle men right we're masculine we're hard

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