Jump Start # 153
Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”
The King James version translates this verse, “Blessed are the meek…”. The word “meek” brings images of having people run rough shod over you, taking advantage of you and being spineless and weak. We are told “it’s a dog eat dog” world and there doesn’t seem to be much room for meekness. But this is the nature of the citizen’s in God’s kingdom. They are meek, or gentle. Our concept of meekness is not the one we gather from the Bible.
Gentleness or meekness is an attitude. In the beatitudes, meekness follows mourning and poverty in spirit. The word means to be “under control.” It is like a mighty horse that is under control, and not running wild and free.
Jesus admitted that He was meek and lowly in heart. Other versions say, “gentle and humble in heart.” Arrogance, stuffiness, bigotry, refusing to be around certain people can not be said of Jesus. The lepers, the Samaritans, the tax collectors, the Pharisees, the officials of the synagogue all found company with Jesus. Our Lord never destroyed someone verbally. Even on the cross He “didn’t let them have it.” He was gentle. He was kind. Yet, He was the Lord. No one, including Satan, took anything away from Jesus that He was not willing to give. He never felt that people took advantage of Him or used Him. He was the Lord. All power was at His finger tips, but He was under control.
That’s hard for us because we tend to “lose control.” When we feel like we have been ripped off, taken advantage of, or received bad service, we tend to give an ear full to the manager, make threats, raise our voice and get ugly. Those are not our better moments. Generally the thoughts of Jesus don’t cross our minds at those times. Out of control anger, words, feelings is not the nature of Christ’s citizen. Blessed are those who are gentle.
Gentle when someone is correcting us. Gentle when the other person is not gentle. Gentle when we are correcting others. Gentle when dealing with wrong. Gentle when dealing with tough situations. Now this just isn’t easy to do. Our blood tends to boil, our voices get louder, we get red in the face, steam comes out of our ears, our hearts pound faster and faster and we get all worked up.
Gentle doesn’t mean we let others have their way. Often their way is wrong or involves wrong. Gentle means being firm, standing on what you believe but without losing control. It is without throwing a fit. Thunder never kills anyone, it is the lightning that does. We could use a lot less thunder in our spirits.
How do we become gentle? Easy. Follow Jesus. Learn from Jesus. That’s what He says in Mt. 11:28-30. You can’t really get there without first becoming poor in spirit, mourning for your condition and then learning from God. Sometimes it is good to just hush and listen. It’s hard to become when we are always justifying, excusing and defending self. The gentle will take the talking to. The gentle will change.
No one feels good when they have destroyed someone verbally. We don’t feel good when it happens to us. The blessing is upon those who are gentle. Try it today. Try being gentle—at work…at home. It’s hard. You have pull back on the reigns a few times. But once you’ve done it a few times, you realize what a blessing it is.
Roger