Have you ever heard of the "Dependent Order of Really Meek and Timid Souls"? When you make an acrostic of the first letters of its name, you have the word "Doormats." The Doormats have an official insignia—a yellow caution light. Their official motto is: "The meek shall inherit the earth, if that’s OK with everybody!" The founder of the society wrote a pamphlet called “Cower Power.”
I. Meekness (5:5a)
As you are aware many words don’t translate well from one language to another. Meek is one of those words. If we just take it at face value it means mild, gentle, or humble. But to take it in the context it was used in biblical times it is so much more.
This word was most often used for horses that had been broken, and in other uses it meant balanced, humble, gentle, not self willed or ill willed, obedient and submissive to God. Or - A. Power Under Control (Ps 37:11; Mt 11:29, 26:53; Gal 5:23)
It is not laziness or lack of desire or passion, weakness, niceness, or being easy going. Restrained might be another good word for it. Humility or biblical meekness has incredible power because it allows God to work. Pride gets in the way and it becomes mere human power, and most of the time God lets us have our own way if we choose that.
The idea of meekness is also found in Ps 37:11 speaking of future rewards to those who persevere in the Lord. “The meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace”. There’s a little clue for later. The OT promise to Israel is now corresponding to the promise for all God’s people. They inherited the promised land, God’s people of today now inherit a coming new earth. But we should all have abundant peace within us, that is the real inheritance in the here and now.
Meekness is a fruit of the spirit often translated as gentleness in Galatians 5. But it’s impossible to accurately translate the word into English especially using only one word.
The best definition and core of meekness I believe is, B. Relinquishing our Rights to God (Mt 26:39, 53; Php 2:3-11; Job 38:1-42:6), not demanding what you think you deserve, and this is why I use the word humble, though meekness is really many other things as well. The humble person knows that he deserves nothing when he sees himself as he truly is in relation to God. Yet he can smile because of the ridiculous grace and blessings that he has received in spite of this.
So rather than demanding our rights, we allow God to give us what He decides is right, and we don’t question it. Therefore, we will also not hold onto something, anything that we have been given, because like Job, we realize that it was never ours in the first place.
If we are suffering, if we see something as unfair, we immediately face it with a quiet mind and gracious spirit because we know we deserve much worse. The only thing that would be fair is death, because God says that because of our sin, that is all mankind deserves on our own merit. This is not low self-esteem, it is simply an accurate awareness of our spiritual state in God’s eyes.
We don’t deserve salvation, a nice church building, children, a house, any of it. All we deserve is death. Anyone who believes other than this is disagreeing with God. Pride is what tells us we deserve anything and Jesus says flat out, if you think you deserve the earth, you will not inherit it. Certainly not the new one I’m preparing for eternity. Remember everything physical, every thing of the earth is going to be destroyed before Christ returns, and only the meek, those who know they don’t deserve it, will inherit the new.
Listen to what we hear from Jesus in Mt 11:29 “Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”. Doesn’t that sound like peace as we heard in the Psalm? Meekness is caring more about God and others than yourself, it is selflessness. Perfect submission. Like the broken horse, we stop fighting, we stop trying to buck the rider off, and that is where our souls find rest.
But perhaps the best scriptural description of this meekness is of Jesus himself, our role model in Philippians 2:3-11.
“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be held on to, 7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
There are many biblical examples of this meekness. Abraham, Job, Jeremiah, David, Moses, Stephen, and of course Jesus who we just read inherited everything on, under, and above the earth.
Now we do see Jesus acting in ways we may not consider meek when he turns over the tables in the temple and when he rebukes the Pharisees on occasion, but Jesus never fought back for his own sake, it was always righteous anger (after all he was God), and it was only to protect His Father’s honour. Don’t you think he could have done more than turn over some tables if he wanted to?
Meekness is the spirit of the martyr, not without courage, but completely selfless and submitted. This is a natural effect of being poor in spirit and mourning over sin.
Letting God use me for his purposes, not my own, the complete submission to the one who purchased me on the cross, because I realize that I am nothing without him. Meekness is complete surrender to the fact that God purchased us for his use as a living sacrifice.
Being meek is perhaps the first noticeable characteristic in the beatitudes. James 1:21 “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness (something we are to do) and receive with meekness the implanted word (something God has to do), which is able to save your souls”.
People will not necessarily see your poverty of spirit and your mourning for sin, but they will see your meekness, which comes from these first two internal traits or attitudes. We will see that this meekness, getting your worldly passions under control is vital for the next beatitude, having an exclusive appetite for God.
The first two are focussed on yourself and God, now with meekness other people are brought into the picture. In the first beatitude we saw that being poor in spirit reflects our attitude toward self in relation to God. In the second, mourning reflects our attitude toward sin, and now in the third we see our attitude in relation to other people and institutions.
The blessing in this beatitude is that we shall be:
II. Heirs With Christ (5:5b)
A. Inherit means to be given, not to take. It is Conquest vs Patient Resignation (Rom 8:12-17; 2 Cor 11:16-12:10; Jas 1:21)
Think about it in terms of inheritance in the movies. The spoiled, cocky, young, self-centered child of a wealthy family can’t wait for his parents to die, and is devastated when he hears that he didn’t get the inheritance he thinks he deserved, but it was given to the butler who served selflessly and loyally through the now dead person’s life, demanding nothing, expecting nothing in return. This young person got his rewards while the parent was alive, but Jesus says our rewards come later if we are meek.
Let’s think of it in terms of evangelism for a moment. How does the church inherit the earth in terms of bringing the people of the earth to Christ? Do our man made programs do it? Do aggressive man centered evangelism efforts do it? Does God do it through our obedience?
Look where the earth is being taken for Christ around the world. It’s from people obediently heeding the call to go to these people and what, build mega churches? No, talk to them, feed them, teach them, and pray for them.
This is why I’m not a huge fan of altar calls and church made evangelistic programs designed to get people into the church. These are man centered, often pride created efforts to accomplish something only God can through our simple but earnest prayer, and speaking personally to people about the Gospel.
I don’t want to encourage simple, quick, shallow emotional decisions that lead nowhere, I want to make disciples, submitted followers of Christ as Jesus commands. People who know the cost and still choose to obey his commands and get baptized (transformed). That’s what Jesus calls a disciple in the great commission.
Look what Jesus said in Luke 10: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Therefore (what?) pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest”. Then, “I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves”. That’s very dangerous, lambs being about the meekest animal you’ll find. The wolves will slaughter them, if the power of God isn’t in them.
He continues, “If you are accepted somewhere stay, but if not, don’t push, don’t cause a fuss, just let them know what they are rejecting, move on to the next town, and leave them to my judgment”. Notice it’s about going out, not bringing in.
We also know that we are:
B. Conquerors Through Contentment (Php 3:3-11, 4:11-13; 1 Ti 6:6-7; Heb 13:5-8)
This blessing of inheriting the earth is not just future. The essence of it is contentment. Remember Jesus said earlier it’s equated with rest for your soul. We know that we have already inherited the earth because we are content with everything we have. Sure we will not have everything promised until the new earth, but if we are content with what we do have, we already have everything. And it’s all inherited, even if we think we got it for ourselves, through our own efforts. Why do we know this, because God can take it away from us at any second?
Look at Paul’s words… Philippians has at least two very relevant passages relating to our topic today. Listen to some of the statements in Philippians 1: “my expectation and hope is that with full courage Christ will be honored in my body whether by life or death. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. My desire is to die and be with Christ, but to stay alive is more necessary for your sake. Let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel”.
Going on in Philippians 2 after hearing about Jesus’ humility that we read earlier:
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.”
This is another good description of meekness in Paul, and most of Philippians is about this meekness. And strangely enough the outcome of this according to Paul is rejoicing and contentment in God’s provision. He says a little later, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Then, “I have received full payment and more (there’s the inheritance), and my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
There we have it, Paul taking pretty much a whole letter to show what real meekness is and what it means to inherit the world from God in the here and now. Contentment and thanksgiving, even when we appear to have nothing but persecution.
Now though meekness is far from being gutless, there is everywhere in the New Testament and Old the idea that meekness and suffering go hand in hand. We see it in Philippians, we see it in Romans 8 speaking of being joint heirs with Christ, that, “if we are led by the spirit we are children of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may be glorified with him.”
Darn it pastor can’t you just preach grace and love and what we get, you always have to bring up the ifs and buts. But people, the suffering only magnifies the reward. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ, tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us … nothing will be able to separate us from the love and inheritance of God in Christ”.
Paul says, “The stuff of this earth is dung compared to gaining Christ, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”
Becoming like him in his death. What does that mean? Is it not that we would be completely submitted to the will of the Father, forgiving our persecutors even as they are crucifying us? Is Christ so important to us that everything in the world is dung compared to him? I can’t say that. I wish I could.
This is radical teaching people. Was it fair what happened to Jesus? Did he not have rights? Could he not have called upon legions of angels to save him?
He chose to give up his rights, his position, everything in complete injustice, for the sake of His father and other people. That is meekness. And now he sits at the right hand of God and has been made ruler of heaven and earth. Not only that, he blatantly assumes that his followers will do as he did.
Again as in all of the beatitudes God is explaining the description of a true Christian, and each characteristic comes from the previous ones. Being poor in spirit, and mourning over sin causes us (or should cause us) to be meek individuals completely submitted to the one who has saved us from the penalty of sin, to the point that we become his purchased slaves, knowing that he is the perfect and just slave owner.
We are all to be martyrs, which literally means witnesses. Now does Jesus not want us to enjoy life and the things the world has to offer? Honestly I don’t he cares much as long as we do not refuse him in favour of those things. Being meek simply means that if asked, we are completely ready to give it all up for him.
The question is, has he asked that of us yet. Last week we talked about him giving us a comforter, do we need a comforter if we are comfortable? When was the last time you witnessed? You told someone about what Christ has done to you and for you? We should be so excited about that, that like Paul we have to tell everybody we come across.
Have you really experienced anything worth telling about? If so start telling, because that is the best form of evangelism, our personal witness, but we need to have something to talk about, and the people in your church need to hear it as much as those outside. Even if we are seen as lunatics.
About five years ago now God asked me to quit my cushy job, sell my house, do two years of school, and eventually pick up my family and move to this little town in Manitoba. I have never been happier, or more content in my life, and I am not just saying that.
I feel like I have inherited the earth. And I know that tomorrow he may ask something else of me, and I would definitely not be happy about it, but I would have to submit, where else shall I go but where he sends me? I know that if I follow Him, that is where my deepest happiness comes from.
Are you meek? Are you a follower of Jesus ready to say yes to whatever he commands you to do with no thought of your rights, with no grumbling or complaining? He promises you contentment if you do, even if it’s difficult, do you believe him?
