<p>4:5 <i>Let your gentle attitude be known to all men. The Lord is at hand</i>- The appeal to be gentle is perhaps in the context of the fierce dispute between the two sisters of :2. There was a particular need for this to change because they were involved in the work of Gospel proclamation (:3), and disunity between believers is the biggest disadvertisment for the Gospel. The 'making known to all men' is because &quot;the Lord is at hand&quot;. We should preach especially in the last days, knowing that a witness must be made to all nations before the Lord comes; and Phil. 4:5 seems to imply that just because &ldquo;the Lord is at hand&rdquo; we should let our &ldquo;moderation&rdquo; RVmg. &ldquo;gentleness&rdquo; be known unto all men&rdquo; in the hard world of the last days. &quot;The Lord is at hand&quot; is also how Paul signs off his letter in 1 Cor. 16:22, although he uses the Aramaic equivalent of this term: &quot;Maranatha&quot;.</p><p>However, it is possible to understand &quot;at hand&quot; as meaning near in space rather than near in time. The appeal for gentleness would then be based around the fact that the Lord is present with us, and in His close presence we should be always gentle. In support of this we note that the same Greek phrase is used in the LXX of Ps. 119:151 &quot;You are near, O Lord&quot;.&nbsp;</p><p>Forbearance and tolerance are to be characteristic of our attitude to others (Eph. 4:2; Phil. 4:5). Paul was aware that on some matters, brethren can quite honestly hold different points of view (Rom. 14:5,6). But there is a difference between tolerance and indifference. The tolerance which is the fruit of the spirit is something hard to cultivate, and it can only spring from love.&nbsp; It's not that we think something doesn't matter... but rather that in sympathy with the other person, we seek to understand why the other person is thinking and behaving as they do. There is some truth in the saying that to know all is to forgive all. And when false doctrine does have to be challenged, the truth must be spoken <i>in love</i> (Eph. 4:15). Opponents are to be corrected &quot;with gentleness&quot; (2 Tim. 2:23-25; 1 Pet. 3:15). It is all too easy, knowing the truth as we do, to win the argument but lose the person. And so often I have been guilty of this.</p>