Meekness: The Cutting Horse And The Mule

Meekness is strength under control. At one time in my life, I was heavily involved with horses. It is a beautiful thing to watch a well-trained cutting horse work. Just a gently touch of reign on his neck or a shift in the rider’s weight can ignite a quick turn in that powerful animal. He does exactly as the master directs without any resistance. That is a picture of meekness: full submission to God.

We had a buggy back then with a trained horse to pull it. But one day we decided to train a mule to pull that buggy. The man who was leading the way in this had a bull whip and knew how to use it. When we hooked that mule up to the buggy, he began to kick. We thought that bull whip would teach him otherwise. So, the more he kicked, the more whipped. And the more we whipped, the more he kicked. It went on for hours. At the end of the day, the mule had learned nothing. And the buggy had been kicked to pieces. “Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding.” That mule was not meek. The cutting horse was just as powerful, but he was meek. When we are meek in spirit, God can direct us and use us. There were two fundamental differences between the cutting horse and the mule. The cutting horse trusted his master; the mule did not. The cutting horse was submitted to his master; the mule was not.

From Sermon by Richard Tow entitled "The Meek."