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.