Nice Guys Don’t Finish Last

Matthew 11:28 —

‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’

Often when I hear today’s verse, it is being used to encourage us to find rest from our burdens when we live in relationship with Jesus. This, of course, is a beautiful truth that we can find comfort in.

What I find interesting, however, is the way Jesus describes himself in the first instance as ‘gentle and humble in heart’. Jesus doesn’t comfort us by showing us how strong or capable he is, but rather that it is his gentleness that qualifies him to carry our burdens.

Throughout our western culture, gentleness is not the first trait to be celebrated. You’ve probably heard the saying ‘nice guys finish last’, the idea that showing kindness to others will ultimately be our downfall, allowing us to be surpassed by those who only care about their own needs. What a load of rubbish!

Sometimes gentleness can be defined as 'mild' or 'meek' and over time, society has developed negative connotations for these words. But gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit - it’s not a runner-up prize. It is a gift that we can use to show others the love of God. Jesus himself encourages us to trust him through his gentleness and we can comfort others and lead them to him through the kindness and compassion we show in our daily interactions.

And the truth is, when we walk alongside God, we will never come last. In fact, we don’t even need to run the race to win! God has claimed the ultimate victory and has already given us the prize of freedom through eternal life with him.

Prayer- Father God, we thank you that you are kind and gentle in spirit. We pray that today through your gentleness, you would comfort us and encourage us to do the same for those around us.