If we are to be truly gentle, we need God to give us the ability to be gentle when it counts. Then, there's 'long-suffering' or 'patience'. As someone who growls when the car in front of me doesn't move when the light turns green, I can't say that I'm a patient man. I'm raised to demand instant action. I live in a fast-paced world which is getting faster even as age slows me down.
Life's too short.
When I see someone spending a large amount of time in devotions and prayer, my first thought is that they're escapists running away from the world. There's too much to do, and curse to hell anyone who gets in the way. In that way, I am a man of my era. Those who bear emotional burdens over those they love seem like fools who should cut loose 'for their own good', or so it's said. However, the Spirit, who can be faster than any of us, is not in it for the quick hit.