The lessons we teach our kids are the most important in life.
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6
“Gentle touch,” we tell one of our kids when they hit, smack, or are otherwise too rough. “Kind tone,” we tell them when they shout, argue, or are otherwise rude with their words.
Consider your day yesterday. When was your physical touch or posture not in alignment with “gentle?” When were your words in a critical, condescending, or judgmental tone?
We never outgrow the basics and we can’t forget the fundamentals. And, of course, the more and more we engage with the Spirit of all-things-good, the more these basic characteristics will be true of us.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23