Where does graciousness start? It starts from the Holy Spirit working in our hearts.
“Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 11:19.
“Indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 1Peter 2:3
“The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. He is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” Psalm 145
“I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me…Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope…You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right Hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8
“For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts…These are the things which defile a man.” Matthew 15:19
“Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord…The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” Philemon
Wow! Try looking up in your Bible concordance the word “Heart”, and see the results. It is overwhelming! I am tempted to just let this post be all Scripture, since His Words are far better than mine. 🙂 But for your sake, I will give a feeble attempt at words.
First of all, there are many warnings in Scripture about the heart. We are evil and sick, and need the Lord to redeem our hearts by His grace, in order to give Grace and walk in graciousness. With a heart filled with gratitude, praise, and love for the Lord, we are then able to proceed towards others with a heart filled with love, steadfast faithfulness, and an overflow of grace.
In order to live gracious lives, and have gracious speech, our hearts must be bent towards grace. We must be diligent in our faith and meditate on the Lord, keeping our eyes pointed towards Him, and not the filthiness of sin. Practice patience in your heart toward your neighbor. Practice having a forgiving heart and not mulling over other’s grievances towards you. Practice thinking about other’s positive traits and qualities. Practice generosity, kindness, and respect.
Oh, that is a big one in today’s society. Respect. No one has respect for their elders, authorities, neighbors, children, etc. Everyone is so busy playing the victim and pursuing their rights and freedoms. We have lost all notion or concept of self sacrifice, courtesy, and respect. And with this loss, we have lost graciousness in society.
Choosing love, kindness , and courtesy does not mean being weak or accepting evil. Those attitudes are what looses graciousness, and doesn’t gain them. The emphasis in our culture of inclusion to everyone, (even the perverse, violent, and evil) has made our culture gory, graphic, garish, wicked, lovers of evil etc. Many verses in Scripture instruct us to be diligent and vigilant in our faith. Ephesians 6 tells us to “Put on the whole armor of God” and fight the flaming darts of the Evil One, and stand in the day of adversity. Peter tells us to “Be sober, be vigilant.” Joshua tells the people to be “Strong and of good courage.” Bad things happen when good people do nothing. But not only do we fight evil, and desire for it not to gain a foothold, we also are instructed by Jesus to pray for those who persecute us. God does not want us to take personal vengeance. We are told to seek peace, and pray for our authorities, that they would rule according to His Word. We pray that evil would be converted or restrained .
Guard where your mind goes. Do not let seeds of bitterness grow; it leads to destruction. Do not brood. Cultivate a spirit of gratitude. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally brethren, whatever things are…true…noble…just…pure…lovely…of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.”
Colossians 3 tells us,
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
That sums it up beautifully!
Blessings!