Meekness as a Characteristic of Love
The next trait of love we will look at is meekness. This is another word we use little in today’s language, and as such, its meaning has become both watered-down and uncertain. To some, it’s synonymous with weakness, but since the Bible declares Jesus was meek, we know that cannot be the case.
As I studied out the word this morning, I learned a lot. To me, the word “meekness” carried with it the idea of humility or quiet strength, and to a degree, that’s correct, but there’s much more to it. If you’ll bear with the word nerd inside me, I’ll fill you in on what I discovered.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, to be meek is to be “quiet, gentle, and not willing to argue or express your opinions in a forceful way.” Wow! We don’t see much of that in the world today, do we? No, it seems our current culture wants to shove their opinions down our throats, and if we dare to disagree, we’re haters. Seriously? But to be honest, even we—as Christians—tend to become forceful in our beliefs. It’s one thing to stand up for what we know to be true; it’s quite another to be rude and argumentative. So, there’s that, but meekness goes even further.
In reading the Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, I discovered meekness defined as “an active and deliberate acceptance of undesirable circumstances that are wisely seen by the individual as only part of a larger picture.” Whoa!!! No wonder Jesus was described as being meek. His life on earth was full of undesirable circumstances, but He knew they were all part of the larger picture of salvation, so He actively and deliberately accepted them. Jesus didn’t whine and complain about how hard life was or how unfair it was that He had to suffer. And not once, to my knowledge, did He turn His head toward Heaven and utter, “God, I’m too good for this. I don’t deserve to be treated this way. I’m special. I’m somebody. I’m your Son.”
His attitude is a picture of how meekness is spelled out in I Corinthians 13. Naturally, we can link meekness and longsuffering (one of the traits we discussed earlier in this study), but we also see meekness spelled out in another powerful statement.
Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up (vs. 4). Love isn’t proud. It doesn’t arrogantly demand to have its way. In light of the first definition of meekness, we see the connection between pride and forcefully arguing our opinions. The person who knows he’s right and demands everyone else accept that knowledge is one who is puffed up and vaunts himself above others. He thinks he’s better than everyone else. He’s a know-it-all and proud of it! Such is not a meek person.
The proud are also those who feel they deserve the best. They’re too good to suffer illness or disease. They’re entitled to the best life has to offer, and woe unto any who stand in their way. The proud are unlikely to view undesirable circumstances as a piece of a larger puzzle because their focus is on one thing and one thing only—themselves. When life doesn’t treat them the way they expect, they pout and complain and pitch a fit. (Is anyone else squirming in their seat right about now? No? Just me?)
Jesus is the ultimate example of meekness born of love. Though He never strayed from the truth or sugar-coated it to make it more palatable, He was kind, compassionate, and patient. Our Savior never tried to force His opinions (which are the truth) upon anyone. He offered it and left it to the recipient to accept it (much like salvation). Additionally, He lived a life of poverty, not even having a home of His own, yet He never lost His joy because His focus was on the bigger picture. Even as He hung in agony on the cross, He could cry the victorious words, “It is finished!” because He saw the future He had just purchased. A future where we can all be together with Him. A future He knew was worth dying for. I can’t help but wonder if He died with a smile on His face as He looked forward to that day where we’ll be united with Him forever in Heaven. That, my friend, is not weakness. It’s meekness!
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. ”
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