Blessed Are The Meek

Aaron Beard

            As with the previous two beatitudes, this one must have left the hearers of the “Sermon on the Mount” in a state of bewilderment.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).  The principles Jesus taught were completely foreign to the ideas of their time, both in society and within the religious leadership.   

            When the world hears the word meek, the idea of weakness comes to mind.  The world’s idea of what it takes to be “successful” is to be ruthless, uncaring, and power hungry.  The idea of our society is to look out for yourself and worry about others only if it helps your cause.  In many cases, when one climbs the executive ladder in search of “The American Dream,” those who take the time to look out for the interests of others just get trampled over.  When one reaches the plateau he then looks down and says, “Look at what I have done!”  Part of the reason our society is in such a wretched state is that it is driven by a powerful desire to serve self, at all costs.

      By saying, “Blessed are the meek,” Jesus sets forth an idea that runs contrary to the majority of the thinking of this world.   Someone once captured the meaning of meekness by describing it as “power under control.”   The word meek was originally used to describe the breaking of a wild animal, such as a horse.  When a horse has been brought under control of his trainer, he is said to be “meek.” One who is meek has done away with self-will and brought himself under subjection to God.  Speaking on this idea, James writes, “Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God” (James 4:6-7).

            While the first two beatitudes deal mainly with one’s relationship and reaction to his sin, meekness deals more with a broken will toward God. Peter tells us to “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (I Peter 5:6). It is not that a meek man does not have wants and desires of his own, but he sets aside those desires in order to submit to the will of God.  No longer does sin and self run his life, but now he is guided by the word of God and righteousness.  Paul penned, “And having been set free from sin, you became slaved of righteousness” (Romans 6:18).  When God looks down upon a man who is meek He sees a beautiful creature.  Psalms 149:4 says, “For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble (meek) with salvation.”

             Meekness is rooted in our relationship to the Lord, but it overflows into our relationship with others.  In contrast to fulfilling the will of self Paul writes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:23).  All of these deal with our relationships with our brethren and others.  One who is meek is not demanding on always having his way.  He seeks out to put others ahead of himself.  A meek man has brought his will under control.  Speaking of how we should deal with one another, Paul writes, “…as the elect of God… put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another…” (Col. 3:12). 

            In Matthew 5:5 Jesus said that the meek were blessed “for they shall inherit the earth.”  While there has been much discussion as to the exact meaning of this phrase, it seems that there are two meanings which hold great weight in fitting this passage.  First of all, the meek shall inherit this earth now.  The meek do this in the sense that they reap the full benefits that God originally purposed for man through this physical world.  David wrote, “But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Psalms 37:11). When God designed the world and man He had a meek man in man.  Like with a vehicle, if you want it to operate properly, you must obey the manual provided by the manufacturer, so we must operate by God’s manual, which directs us to be meek.  Secondly, it is the meek who “according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (II Peter 3:13).