Matthew 5:5, Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
The word meek literally means to be patient under persecution or to be overly submissive, and it is also translated as gentle and humble. We need more than a definition, though.
One analogy says meekness is like a wild horse that has been tamed, which has all the strength but is under control. I do not like this comparison. It seems that human nature will always focus on having the power rather than seeing the submission required to be “under control.” We put on a face and pretend we have denied ourselves, but inside we hold onto our status and strength.
My pastor had a better explanation. We cannot be meek if we do not have power: a homeless person can be humble toward me, but not meek, since I have all the advantages over him; he can, however, be meek to another homeless person. To be meek, we must first have power, status, or privilege, then we give it up. When I am meek, I approach the homeless person as being above me, not below.
But then I thought about the wild horse analogy further and realized that when a horse is tamed, it is called broken, and a well-tamed or broken horse does only what it is told to do. In other words, it is a slave to the rider, doing everything it is directed to do and nothing that it is not. This is the better part of the analogy, one I have never heard spoken of in church. We are meek when we give up our power and serve others, the way Jesus said in Matt 20:25-28.
“and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life — a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:27-28, HCSB)
Jesus set the example when he entered Jerusalem on a donkey, and in Matt 21:5 it uses the same word meek (translated “gentle”) to describe him doing just this. Does this example impact us as it should? Jesus is God, and yet he came into Jerusalem not as a king, but on a beast of burden, denying all the rights owed him as our Sovereign. He came gently, submitting himself to his own creation all the way to the cross.
Another example of meekness in action occurred when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet in John 13. He took the role of a lowly servant, a slave even, not their king, and certainly not God Almighty. He had all the power and authority, and gave it up to serve them. Jesus told a story that may help clarify my point, since I do not believe we understand the relationship between master and servant:
“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'” (Luke 17:7-10, NIV)
That servant was more like what we would call a slave. How many of us think and act like a slave toward anyone? Are we truly willing to give up our status and be a slave to others? No. We set our hearts on a nice home, a nice car, and a good, respectable job, we look down on those who have less, and we completely miss the importance of becoming like Christ in this way.
In Luke 9:23, Jesus said we must deny ourselves, meaning we must give up all our desires and what we feel we are owed. If it feels unfair when a co-worker gets the promotion we worked for, we are claiming the right to the promotion, but Jesus said to give it up. We ought to be happy for them and wait patiently for what God has for us, which could mean losing our job rather than getting a better one!
Do we feel a right to a peaceful home, comfortable living, and good health? I have seen a pastor horribly offended at God after becoming terminally ill. He felt he was treated unfairly, and he was a miserable man because he thought he had the right to a long life and a peaceful death. Instead, he should have said, “I am an unworthy slave; I have only done my duty,” and accepted the circumstances that God allowed.
My truck broke down recently and the question was raised, do I have a right to a car? Is taking the bus beneath me? Nope. I am no better than those who ride the bus, and I had to be ready to continue making payments on a disabled vehicle. I made a choice to refuse to be upset by my circumstances. I realize that taking the bus is far from slowly dying. However, if I cannot handle losing my vehicle and riding the bus, how can I handle losing my life? Am I too good to ride the bus, or too gifted a minister to warrant a slow, uncomfortable death? Jesus said I am an unworthy slave.
We must prepare ourselves for greater struggles by meekly accepting our circumstances, refusing to be offended or hurt, and treating others as better than ourselves. We must joyfully look forward, not to what we can gain in this world, but to our place in heaven, where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Rev 21:4). The beatitudes are about a change of perspective, a heart change, becoming like Jesus by changing the way we think about everything.
But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. (Isa 66:2, NASB)
The meek will inherit the earth, which means that for God, only those who deny themselves any status and privilege are fit to exercise authority in the kingdom to come. God waits to give true power to those who prove their faith by living as slaves without rights, and who are not offended by the struggles that come their way.
Yet, meekness is not a means to power, rather it is how we draw near to Jesus by making us like him.
Blessings!
