Meekness, Part 5

In this week’s meditation we continue considering the subject of meekness. Be reminded that meekness is characterized by humility, submissiveness to authority, and gentleness toward others. The meek person is not self-absorbed or self-assertive. Now on reading this, some may get the idea that the meek person is weak and passive, that he is one who just lies down and lets others trample over him, that he never stands up for what he believes is right. Such is far from the truth.

Our Lord Jesus Christ characterized Himself as “meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). And yet this same meek and lowly Jesus drove the moneychangers out of the temple with a scourge and overthrew their tables (John 2:13-17). The meek and lowly Jesus also issued a scathing denunciation of the folly and hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders of His day (Matthew 23).

Or take another example. Of Moses it is said:

Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)

This is that Moses who boldly confronted Pharaoh and demanded that he let Israel go. When Pharaoh refused, the very meek Moses called forth plagues upon Egypt. We also read of a time when Moses’ anger waxed hot against the idolatrous worshippers of the golden calf and he called for their execution (Exodus 32:19-29). This is anything but the picture of a passive weakling. This is rather a man who boldly stood up for truth and righteousness whether against the court of the most powerful nation on earth or against the majority of his own people.

The prophet Zephaniah gives the following call to the meek:

Zephaniah 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.

In this call Zephaniah describes the meek as those “which have wrought his (God’s) judgment.” Meek people do what God commands. If God calls upon them to execute judgment upon others, they meekly submit to God’s righteousness and execute that judgment. A meek parent will execute God’s judgment in disciplining a foolish child. A meek pastor will boldly denounce sin. A meek church will withdraw from those who walk disorderly. A meek judge will condemn to death those worthy of capital punishment. Meekness will never turn away from obeying the call of God even if it is unpopular or personally painful to do so, because a meek person is not governed by self-interest. His foremost goal is the glory of God, not the preservation and ease of himself. And when a meek person has done his duty toward God, he will not brag about his accomplishment; for a meek person is not proud. He is not prone to self-exaltation. He will rather humbly thank God for the favour of serving his Lord.

If one is meek, does that mean that he has to let people take unfair advantage of him? For example, if one has set a fair price for his product or service, is he being self-assertive if he does not allow someone to talk him out of his price? Does meekness require him to let a greedy man take unfair advantage of him? Remember that a meek person executes God’s judgment. Now God’s judgment calls for equity and fairness in economic transactions. God Himself is the Author of the judicial system in which men can plead their cause when they have been dealt with unfairly. One is not failing to be meek by insisting on that which is just. Note in the passage from Zephaniah quoted above, the meek are called upon to seek righteousness, that which is just. Now to be sure, a meek man will consider the needs of another in hardship. That is one thing. But to cater to someone’s greed is another.

However, our blessed Lord taught us that in the case of relatively minor inequities, it is best just to endure them.

Matthew 5:38 ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

We have better things to do than to quibble over every little piece of injustice that comes our way. Let us save our energy for the big ones. And if we encounter injustice over which we have no control, then meekness would dictate that we humbly submit the matter to the righteous judgment of God.

Ecclesiastes 5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

We cannot rid this world of every injustice. Only God can do that!

I would like to close this meditation with another quote from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. This is taken from his book Walk With God. He had this to write about meekness:

The Greek word which is used in the Gospel, “praotes,” is not a gentleness which has its source in weakness, but rather a gentleness which has its source in strength. It is that of a giant who wrestles with a child without hurting him, or of a powerful monarch who uses only enough strength to put down opposition, or a God Incarnate Who could have smitten His enemies in the Temple who were buying and selling, but contented Himself to opening a few cages and driving the traders out with ropes. Meekness is disciplined strength, not cowardly weakness…. Meekness which belongs to the natural or psychological order is allied with timidity or insensibility, but this meekness which is born of the Spirit is a Divine product and requires great self-control. As Browning said: “The meek man is the one who knows well what it is to have a giant’s strength, but he also knows that it is tyrannous to use it as a giant.”

Bishop Sheen has captured a point well worth our consideration.

Meekness, Part 4

In this week’s meditation on meekness, I would like to focus on how meekness affects our relationship to other people. Let’s begin by recalling a quote I have already given you from Arthur W. Pink:

Meekness is the opposite of self-will toward God, and of ill-will toward men.

Meekness is defined as gentleness of spirit. A man of a gentle spirit is not so prone to harbour ill-will toward others. This agrees with the following instructions of Paul:

Titus 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

I have highlighted the words I want you to focus on. Observe that if we are showing “all meekness unto all men,” we will be gentle, which is placed in contrast to speaking evil of men and being brawlers. A brawler is a quarrelsome fellow. A gentle person, who shows meekness unto all men, is not going to be so quick to say bad things about other people or to put the worst construction on their actions. Neither is he going to be so quick to quarrel with other people. Now let’s define gentle and the terms related to it.

Gentle - Of persons: Well-born, belonging to a family of position; having the character appropriate to one of good birth; noble, generous, courteous.

Courteous – Having such manners as befit the court of a prince; having the bearing of a courtly gentleman in intercourse with others; graciously polite and respectful of the position and feelings of others; kind and complaisant in conduct to others.

Kind - Of persons: Naturally well-disposed; having a gentle, sympathetic, or benevolent nature; ready to assist, or show consideration for others; generous, liberal, courteous.

The meek person is gentle, courteous to other men, considerate of them, and ready to assist them. He is not so quick to condemn others for their faults and failures or to put them down. He will not always be complaining about what other people do or don’t do and saying harsh things about them. He is more prone to be merciful to the weaknesses and sins of others, more prone to forgive and to restore. The meek person will more readily do as Paul instructs in these verses:

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Now we will miss an important motive for meekness toward all men if we overlook Paul’s reason for giving this instruction in Titus 3:1-2. Just look at the next verse.

Titus 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

If you find yourself quick to condemn others for their faults, to speak evil of them, and to quarrel with them, then just remember how foolish you have been in the past. Remember your own faults and this just might make you a little more sympathetic toward the faults of others. Francois Fenelon wrote:

So long as we are full of SELF, we are shocked at the faults of others. Let us think often of our own sin, and we shall be lenient to the sins of others.

Considering meekness as it pertains to our relationship with others, it is any wonder then that meekness is an important ingredient in effective witnessing and teaching?

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

2 Timothy 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

The self-absorbed, self-righteous, Pharisee makes a very ineffective witness and teacher for Christ. He has little patience with poor sinners who are struggling to learn and grow. He thinks himself so above them that all he does is criticize them, complain about them, and quarrel with them. Oh, I am not meaning by all this that a meek person takes an indifferent or soft attitude toward sin. No, sin must be abhorred and rebuked. But at the same time a meek person has compassion for the sinner who acknowledges his weakness and struggles to be free. A meek person remembers his own struggles with sin and shows the same mercy and compassion to others that he needed and still needs for himself. If the sinless Christ could show meekness and gentleness to sinners, how ought we, who are sinners ourselves, to show the same!

Meekness, Part 3

We continue with our meditation on meekness. Recall that a meek person is a humble person and that a humble person is characterized by the absence of self-assertion or self-exaltation. Also remember that meekness is associated with submissiveness to authority. It is because of the nature of meekness that we have this commandment given to us:

James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

The meek are those who will humble themselves before the authority of the word of God even if it crosses them. They will deny themselves and their will in order to bow to the will of God. They are like King Josiah when he heard the word of the Lord. After hearing the words of the law pronouncing judgment against his kingdom, Josiah sent unto the prophetess Huldah to inquire of her regarding the words he had heard. Huldah sent this reply to Josiah:

2 Kings 22:18 But to the king of Judah which sent you to enquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard;
19 Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.

Although the word that Josiah heard was against his kingdom, he humbled himself before it. That is receiving the word with meekness.

The word of the gospel, with its comforting promises of mercy and forgiveness for poor sinners, is addressed to the meek.

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings (the gospel) unto the meek;

The proud have too high an opinion of themselves. They would rather justify themselves or think that they can help themselves than humble themselves and admit that they are helpless sinners in need of God's mercy. It is to the meek, who admit that they are poor, helpless sinners, that the gospel is addressed.

Then we have this promise regarding the meek.

PSA 25:9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

The meek have a disposition that is open to God’s instruction. They are not so self-confident with regard to their judgment and their way. They recognize their need for guidance outside themselves and humbly submit to God’s direction. By contrast, the proud will resist and refuse God’s instruction as Israel did when they “dealt proudly.”

Nehemiah 9:16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage:

If you do not humble yourself before God, God will withhold from you His guidance and instruction leaving you to stumble about in your own foolishness until it destroys you.

Proverbs 1:30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

You see, our proud self is our greatest enemy. It resists the authoritative word of God that tells us what is wrong with ourselves and points us to the way of blessedness and deliverance. The reformer Martin Luther wrote:

"I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, SELF."

This is a healthy fear for all of us to cultivate, especially considering how our self interferes with receiving God’s instruction.

Take these general principles and make specific application of them in your life. Ask yourself: "What direction from God is crossing my will? Does it pertain to how I relate to my spouse? How I dress? How I wear my hair? How I spend my time? How I manage my finances? How I deal with my superiors? How I react to my enemies? Am I resisting God's direction, or humbly bowing to it?" Rather than serving the dictates and decrees of your self, why not humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and follow his dictates and decrees? In this way you shall find direction, blessedness, and salvation. “Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Meekness, Part 2

I would like to direct your attention to the first five of The Beatitudes pronounced by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. A beatitude is a declaration of blessedness. One of these beatitudes deals with meekness, our subject in this series. Today I want to consider what meekness has in common with the other characteristics of those who are pronounced blessed by our Lord.

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

To be blessed is to be happy. The Greek word that is here rendered blessed is rendered happy in other places in the New Testament. With this in mind, we can say that our Lord is giving us in The Beatitudes the formula for happiness.

The first beatitude speaks of the poor in spirit. They are such as feel their need of God’s salvation and mercy. The following passage is an expression of one who is poor is spirit.

Psalms 86:1 Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.

The poor in spirit are contrite, broken by a sense of their sin, and they tremble at God’s word.

Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

The poor in spirit are not self-sufficient. Because of their sin, they know they are deficient before God and His word. They know they need resources outside of themselves and they seek these from God. They do not have the attitude expressed by the church at Laodicea, an attitude the Lord found nauseating.

Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing….

The second beatitude concerns those that mourn. They that mourn are such are feel sorrow, grief, and regret for their sins. Hear the lament of David as he struggled under the burden and guilt of his sin:

Psalms 38: 4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.
6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

A man in this condition is certainly not satisfied with himself. So then they that mourn are not self-satisfied.

This brings us to the third beatitude regarding the meek. In our last meditation, we saw that the meek are characterized by humility, gentleness, and submissiveness. They do not have a high opinion of themselves nor is their chief aim to exalt themselves. The meek are not self-willed.

The fourth beatitude respects those that hunger and thirst after righteousness. Such souls do not see themselves as full of righteousness. They rather hunger and thirst after it. They are certainly not like that Pharisee, who stood praying with himself in the temple and saying:

Luke 18:11 …God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

In contrast, they are like the apostle Paul who expressed this longing:

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him (the Lord Jesus Christ), not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Paul hungered and thirsted for a righteousness that he did not have in and of himself. So then they that hunger and thirst after righteousness are not self-righteous.

Then the last beatitude we are considering treats of the merciful. They are those who show mercy to others. They show kindness and compassion to those who have no claim to receive kindness or who deserve severity. They are like the good Samaritan in the story told by our Lord (Luke 10:30-37). They will inconvenience themselves to help a neighbour in trouble. They are unlike the priest and the Levite, who passed by on the other side because they wouldn’t be bothered. Merciful people consider the needs of others rather than just the needs of themselves. So we can say of the merciful that they are not self-centered.

Now let’s make an overall observation about these five beatitudes that we have considered. Our Lord pronounces blessed those who are not self-sufficient, who are not self-satisfied, who are not self-willed, who are not self-righteous, and who are not self-centered. All these beatitudes deal with some form of self-abasement. So we may conclude that the pathway to blessedness is the pathway of self-abasement. The self must be dethroned if we would find true happiness. How contrary all this is to the philosophy of the world which would have us seek our happiness in self-fulfillment rather than self-denial! That this is so is because men by nature are proud and self-serving, rather than meek and lowly. Insist that men deny themselves and you will make enemies. With this in mind I conclude with the following excellent quote from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen:

The day Our Lord taught the Beatitudes He signed His own death warrant. The sound of nails and hammers digging through human flesh were the echoes thrown back from the mountainside where He told men how to be happy or blessed. Everybody wants to be happy; but His ways were the very opposite of the ways of the world.

Well said, Bishop Sheen! God willing, we shall have more to say about meekness in coming meditations.

Meekness, Part 1

During the week I receive a meditation online entitled Larry Lilly’s Letter. This is published by a pastor, whom I have had the privilege of meeting at a conference in Indiana. Recently, Pastor Lilly has been writing a series on the self and the battle we all have with it. Then I have been reviewing the message that our brother Greg Ohly recently brought. In this message, Greg quoted someone who said that “meekness is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest, that the meek person is not occupied with self.” This has all set me to thinking about meekness as it relates to the self.

Now let’s begin by noticing the definition of meekness and others words related to it.

Meekness - Gentleness of spirit; humility.

Humility – The quality of being humble or having a lowly opinion of oneself; the opposite of pride or haughtiness.

Humble – Having a low estimate of one’s importance, worthiness, or merits; marked by the absence of self-assertion or self- exaltation; lowly.

Observe that a meek person is a humble person and that a humble person is characterized by the absence of self-assertion or self-exaltation. This lines up with Greg’s comments about meekness. If we would be truly meek, the self must be dethroned!

We can further understand meekness by noticing those things that are associated with it in Scripture. Meekness is associated with lowliness.

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Lowliness is defined as meekness and humility. In the following verse those who are lowly are contrasted with those who are proud.

Proverbs 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

We all know that proud people are very stuck on themselves. In contrast, the meek have a low estimate of themselves. Hence, they are also called the lowly. Meekness is also associated with gentleness.

2 Corinthians 10:1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ….

Titus 3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

A meek person will not be so prone to speak evil of others and to quarrel with others. A proud person, who is stuck on himself and his opinions, will not bear being crossed. Hence, a proud person will be quick to speak evil of those who cross him and he will pick fights with them. And then meekness is associated with submissiveness to authority. Peter teaches that the woman who is adorned with a meek spirit will be in subjection to her own husband.

1 Peter 3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands…
3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

The woman, who is so into herself and what she wants, is not likely to submit to the authority of her husband. It does not matter that God commands this of her. She is so stuck on herself and doing what she wants, that she will not be controlled by another, not even God. To such I would say that resisting any God-ordained authority, when it is exercised in a godly way, is resistance to God Himself. And such resistance will be met with damnation.

Romans 13:1 ¶Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

Observe again in the light of all that has been said thus far, that if you are truly meek, the self must be dethroned! This is the core of meekness. Now let me give you an excellent summation that I gleaned from the book An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount by Authur W. Pink:

Meekness is the opposite of self-will toward God, and of ill-will toward men.

That sums up the dictionary definition and the supporting verses that I have given thus far. Now let this sentence from Mr. Pink sit with you and do some soul-searching in the light of it. God willing, I shall have more to write about this later.