MEEKNESS IS NOT WEAKNESS

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:29

The KJV translation has “meek” instead of “gentle.” What is “meek?” The world’s viewpoint of meekness is against the biblical viewpoint. The world’s viewpoint is not that of the Lord’s. The world’s concept of meekness is the concept of spinelessness, of subservience, of a man who is effeminate. When people think of the meek man, they think of that universal, submissive husband we used to see on the comic pages: Casper Milquetoast. What a lovely name for a meek man! I think of all of the prototypes of the submissive husband, Casper Milquetoast, the meek man. That’s the idea that the world has of meekness. The world’s Beatitudes are “blessed are the mighty, blessed are the strong, blessed are the colorful, blessed are the radical” and various other types. There is LeRoy DeRoche’s phrase: “Nice guys finish last.” The world’s Beatitudes are contrary to the Beatitudes of the Lord Jesus, and their concept of meekness is not the concept of the Bible. So, what does meekness mean according to God?

This is one of the great Greek ethical words. It referred, in some contexts to a balance between excessive anger and excessive angerlessness, or passivity. In other words, if you can think of an average between the man who blows his top, and the man who is utterly spineless, then that was meek, in some contexts. I think that you could say that righteous indignation was the expression of meekness in that usage. But it also had the sense of humility, so that the meek man was the man who possessed humility—the kind of man who saw himself before God, as he should see himself before God and that led him to humility. The most interesting usage of this word, I think, was the fact that it was reserved for domesticated animals. For example, a horse that had been tamed after having been wild would be called a meek horse. Still powerful, but now under control. It was used of wind in a similar way. Brethren, are you meek, like Jesus?

Ike Graham