But how does verse 5 - 'let your gentleness be evident to all' fit in here? Why has Paul highlighted gentleness?
One of the things that Paul wants his letter to do is to encourage the Christians in the city of Philippi to live the sorts of lives that were consistent with their faith. In another letter to a different church Paul lists some of the characteristics that you would expect to see in a Christian - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). He calls this the fruit of the Spirit. These are the sorts of things that God develops in us as we follow Jesus.
So why gentleness in Philippians 4?
It was not easy being a Christian in the Roman Empire at the time Paul was writing. Nero was the Emperor. Christians were being persecuted. Paul himself was writing from prison. He is in prison for his faith, and he is writing to Christians who are being persecuted for their faith.
And in the face of this persecution he encourages them to rejoice and to pray and to experience the peace of God. But he also urges them to gentleness.
I don't know why he specifically highlights gentleness. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Philippi was a place in the Empire that many ex-soldiers in the Roman Army went to retire. No doubt some of these soldiers were now a part of the church. And the right response to persecution is not to fight back. It's no longer right to have an attitude of revenge. Maybe it's because their lives as Christians are so different to their lives before - not just in terms of actions but also in terms of motivation and attitude, that Paul wants to remind them of this.
Whilst their natural human response to persecution might be fear and anxiety mixed with thoughts of despair and revenge - Paul wants to remind them that because God is near - even in the face of persecution - a different way is possible. As they listen to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit reminding them of what is true they can rejoice, they can know peace and they can be gentle.
I doubt many prizes were given out in macho Philippi to gentle ex-soldiers. There are lots of environments today where gentleness does not rank highly. But Jesus calls us to a different way of living.
