On Meekness

Nobody wants to be called meek because its commonly acknowledged definition is “a deficiency in spirit and courage.” Not many would consider that a blessing. Yet it is. Our Lord said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth“ (Matthew 5:5), just one of His teachings that run contrary to what society deems “admirable” traits.

A.W. Tozer wrote, “A fairly accurate description of the human race might be furnished someone unacquainted with it by taking the Beatitudes, turning them wrong side out and saying, ‘Here is your human race.’ For the exact opposite of the virtues in the Beatitudes are the very qualities which distinguish human life and conduct.”

Still, there’s no getting around the fact that those who follow Christ are to be meek-minded because that’s how He described His own countenance. Now, that’s not to imply Jesus never displayed anger. He did. He once violently tore into those who’d turned the Jewish temple into a commercial marketplace, not because He was offended, but because they were openly desecrating His Heavenly Father’s house of worship. He wasn’t having any of that.

However, His outbursts of ire were the exception, not the rule. He was remarkably calm, collected, thoughtful and patient when dealing with people. He made His attitude crystal clear when He preached, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I’ll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I’m gentle and lowly in heart, and you’ll find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light“ (Matthew 11:28-30).

Dane Ortlund wrote, “His yoke is kind and His burden light. That is, His yoke is a non-yoke, and His burden a non-burden. What helium does to a balloon, Jesus’ yoke does to His followers. We’re buoyed along in life by His endless gentleness and supremely accessible lowliness. He doesn’t simply meet us at our place of need; He lives in our place of need. He never tires of sweeping us into His tender embrace. It’s His very heart. It’s what gets Him out of bed in the morning.”

Christ could’ve also labeled being tender and compassionate blessings, as well. In Brennan Manning’s excellent book, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, he wrote, “The Jesus of my journey, the way He’s revealed Himself to me, is as the Compassionate One. Compassionate not because He’s the Son of God, but Son of God because He’s compassionate beyond mortal possibility.”

Manning added, “Therein lies His divinity for me. He’s the image of the invisible God. Should you choose to call Jesus goodness, He’ll be good to you; should you choose to call Him love, He’ll be loving to you; should you choose to call Him compassion, He will know that you know.”

Our Savior expects us to be more caring and compassionate than anybody around us. Matthew Fox commented, “Compassion is a spirituality of meat, not milk; of adults, not children; of love, not masochism; of justice, not philanthropy. It requires maturity, a big heart, a willingness to risk, and imagination.”

The meek never consider themselves holier or wiser than anyone. For every Christian is a work in progress, learning life lessons by studying God’s Word. Spurgeon preached, “If the meek are really meek, they’re always willing to bend. They don’t imagine what the truth ought to be and then come to the Bible for texts to prove what they think should be there. Rather they go to the inspired Book with a candid mind, and they pray with the psalmist, “Open my eyes so I can truly see the marvelous things in Your law“ (Psalm 119:18).”

Spurgeon explained, “When, in searching the Scriptures, they find deep mysteries they cannot comprehend, they believe where they cannot understand. …The meek in spirit are like a photographer’s sensitive camera. As the Word of God passes before them, they desire to have its image imprinted upon their hearts. Their hearts are the fleshly tablets on which the mind of God is recorded. God is the Writer, and they become living epistles, written not with ink, but with the finger of the living God. Thus, they are meek toward God.”

Spiritual meekness isn’t the same as weakness, insecurity or cowardice. Tozer opined, “The meek man isn’t a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather he may be in his moral life bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he’s stopped being fooled about himself. He’s accepted God’s estimate of his own life. He knows he’s as weak and helpless as God has declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he’s in the sight of God of more importance than angels. In himself, nothing; in God, everything.”

Behaving consistently compassionate, tender, gentle, forgiving and merciful doesn’t come naturally. Left to our own instincts we’re self-centered, ungrateful brats who think we deserve a stress-free life involving little concern for anybody else. Therefore, we must consciously strive to be more like Jesus every second of every day, praying constantly for His guidance and inspiration. It’s only then we’ll receive the rest He promises we’ll find.

Tozer wrote, “The rest Christ offers is the rest of meekness, the blessed relief which comes when we accept ourselves for what we are and cease to pretend. It’ll take some courage at first, but the needed grace will come as we learn we’re sharing this new and easy yoke with the strong Son of God Himself. He calls it ‘my yoke,’ and He walks at one side while we walk on the other.”

As for inheriting the earth, say what? No sane person would want this sin-filled planet. But, thankfully, this isn’t the one we’ll inherit. Spurgeon clarified, “After this earth has been purified by fire, angels will descend with new songs to sing, and the New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven in all her glory.” We’ll inherit paradise. Bring it, Lord Jesus. I can’t wait.