“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5: 5
Meek? Who are the meek? Let me start by telling you what meek isn’t. Described negatively, meekness is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest. It’s not about self at all. It isn’t about weakness or being timid either. The common assumption is that when a man is meek it is because he can’t help himself; but the Lord was meek because He had the infinite resources of God at His command.
Jesus said that God’s kingdom is organized differently from worldly kingdoms. In the Kingdom of Heaven people seek different blessings and benefits, and they have different attitudes. Wealth and power and authority are unimportant. The Bible commentary I’m using asks an excellent question… Are your attitudes a carbon copy of the world’s selfishness, pride, and lust for power, or do they reflect the humility and self-sacrifice of Jesus, your king?
Anyway, back to “Blessed are the meek.” The Strong’s Concordance/Vine’s Dictionary description of the word is very interesting. The Greek noun prautes describes meek—it consists not in a person’s outward behavior only. Rather it is an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. It must be clearly understood that the meekness manifested by the Lord and given to the believer is nothing but the fruit of power.
In a nutshell, we are meek because we have been tamed/changed by God. We’ve been brought under control and submission to Him. Believers are humble, but not weak; remember when Jesus drove out the money changers? Don’t mistake a nice person as a weakness! Also something that really jumped out at me—or the Holy Spirit gently convicted me… meekness is not about your rights! Meekness is the opposite of being proud and boastful—not asserting your own rights. If we look at Genesis 13: 5… Abraham waived his rights. He valued his relationship with Lot above any material gain…
So Abraham said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2: 8-9
Summing things up, there are 3 ways meekness will be manifested in your life:
1st way—You won’t be self-absorbed. You died to self.
2nd way—your evangelism/witness changes… No more pride (I’ll show you how much more I know than you!).
3rd way—It will affect the way you react to adversity (“Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering.” Hebrews 10: 32).
“Blessed are they meek, for they will inherit the earth.”…
“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him a thousand years.” Revelation 20: 6
“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” Romans 8: 18
