“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5
Meekness is mildness, humility. This humility comes from an attitude of gratitude toward God for all He has done and promised to do. My pastor was just preaching on humility Sunday, and he talked about how we all want to be humble, right? … or at least we want other people to think we are humble. I don’t know about you, but that part cut straight through to me. In order to be truly meek, we must honestly asses ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.
Why is meekness so difficult? 1) Because of our sin nature – pride. The sin nature says “I’ve got to be #1.” But it doesn’t work that way in God’s Kingdom. One is not great in God’s Kingdom because of the number of people serving you, but because of the number of people you serve. Humility is seen in the servant-heartedness of an individual. However, we must be careful, because the flesh can counterfeit this quality to some extent. I have been guilty – so guilty – of counterfeit meekness. Did you know it’s possible to become proud of your humility? If you, too, have congratulated yourself for your humility, that’s a sign of pride. I’ve done it, and I pray that by God’s grace He would continue to convict me of that, and show me how to become truly humble by His grace.
2) Another reason meekness is so difficult is because of our society and it’s perception of “success.” Nowadays, (generally speaking) everything is judged by how impressive it is, by how much tangible evidence there is of its own greatness. Secular society screams “You have the right to be #1!” This results in self-glorification – being too concerned with what people think of us instead of letting God get the glory. But “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24) We aren’t supposed to use the world’s standards. True greatness is measured by how much we are willing to serve. We must understand that we are nothing, and that all that matters is that God is glorified. We must offer ourselves and our spiritual gifts as a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1) My prayer should be to see myself as I am, see all that He is, and see how I can be used for His glory. If I find myself waiting for applause, it just may be a work of the flesh, and not the Spirit.
Don’t let the world deceive you. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is, rather, evidence that we are becoming more dependent on Christ.
Psalm 10:17 – “Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart…”
Psalm 25:9 – “The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.”
Psalm 149:4 – “For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.”
1 Peter 5:6 – “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
This is really great! I was needing to here this.
Also, on the topic of speaking your mind and the like… As long as you are in the will of God when you respond to someone unfavorably then you are doing the right thing. The boldness you seek Praisehim will come with age. Always keeping in mind that your tongue is your greatest enemy. It will run off without you before you know it has happened. (i know because I am 30 and mine has done that often in the last 30 years) Make sure you and your words are the Salt and the light of the world! Sorry you asked yet? see i am a people pleaser too…ssshhhh!
Thanks for the advice Mrs. Melissa! I really appreciate it! 🙂
And thank you, too, for your input, Booksnob!
Happy to help!
James scripture this week in the TNT gate test is: There is none righteous no not one! Good words ladies…
I always thought that being meek was being a doormat, and never speaking up. I was like that for a good part of my childhood. I’m growing bolder now, and I’m wondering, is that wrong? The boldness?
SweetTart: That commerial totally got on my nerves!! I think it was on last football season.
I don’t think being bold is wrong. Paul asked the Philippian Christians to pray that he would boldly make the gospel known. So, in my opinion, being bold about what you believe is a good thing, as long as it is for the right reasons, and backed up by scripture.
I have trouble being bold about what I believe, because I tend to be a people-pleaser, not wanting to offend anyone. I hate the thought of having someone upset with me! Does anyone have any advice for me on that?
I’m by nature a people pleaser, I think its a first born thing. And I hate when people are mad at me. Hate it.
The thing is, you can’t make everyone happy at the same time. Believe me, I’ve tried. Offending people is part of life, the way we live, what we believe, the way we talk. All of it is going to offend someone. Its pretty much fruitless to believe otherwise.
I stick with gentle honesty with super sensitivity as to when to stop.
Just say what’s on your mind, but don’t jam it down their throats.
If they hate you, remember, they hated Him first. And who cares about what people think about you? It doesn’t matter.
(Spoken by someone who’s had a lot of practice being hated)
I know exactly what you are talking about! Yes, I had an experience where I had to choose what was right. I believed it was the right choice, though to the other party I don’t think they saw it as the right choice. You aren’t here to please men but to please God. tGbtg! ( to God be the glory! )
Have you ever seen that commercial where the dad goes around the house giving everyone in his family a new phone and tells them, “cause you’re my number one.” Then he walks outside the house and holds up HIS new phone and says, “saving the best for numero uno.” You seen that? That’s what I think of when I think of the worlds idea of number one.
I haven’t actually seen that commercial. But, yeah, that’s a really good illustration of the world’s opinion. “You’re #1. Do what’s best for you.” When actually, God is #1, and we are supposed to always put the interests of others before ourselves. (Philippians 2:3-4)