The Discipleship Dare Day Twelve - Meek

I think a lot of us misunderstand meekness. We think it means lying down at the first sign of conflict and being walked on. Others think they are meek because they don’t do anything about conflict but avoid it like the plague. Some think you don’t say or do anything but suffer quietly all the while stewing inside.

But Jess rightly expresses its true meaning – responding in strength at the right things with self-control. Sometimes that means waiting for God to bring about our righteousness as the noon day sun instead of defending ourselves.

Other times it means deferring the situation to God to work out because we have absolutely no control over it.

A few of the synonyms for meek are:

timid, docile, mild, compliant

or

humble, submissive, gentle

The opposite of meek is assertive. So the common misunderstanding is if I am an assertive person I’m not meek. But if I’m a mild mannered person by nature then I’m meek. I don’t express my opinion. I don’t do anything to deal with conflict. I don’t go against the flow. I do not act.

Yet, if we look at the other synonyms for meek we see that it’s how we respond that makes us meek in the face of injustices, unfairness and other things that could cause us to want to assert our rights.

Humble means the attitude in which I approach the situation. Do I put myself first? Do I think I’m the only one who is right? Am I assuming things without knowing all the facts?

Submissive means we take into consideration the feelings and rights of others. We put them first above ourselves and our need for conflict resolution NOW!

Gentle is the manner in which we operate in the situation. We don’t have to demand or be angry. We deal calmly and patiently with the conflict.

It takes great strength of character and self-control to be truly meek. For some of us this character trait is the most difficult to cultivate. But that’s why Christ gave us the Holy Spirit. At any given moment we can consciously choose to operate out of the Holy Spirit instead of our flesh.

Meekness is a choice and the more we choose it the more it’s developed in our character.

Lord, make consciously aware of your Holy Spirit ready and waiting to help us be meek in every situation. Help us to choose meekness instead of the weakness of our flesh.