Is Meekness a Good Thing?

Matthew 5:5 (NIV) 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

"In biblical thought wisdom has a wide range of meaning. Wisdom can mean simply the practical skills and qualities which humans can acquire in order to live successfully." [1]

Our world’s philosophy says the route to success is to be aggressive, look out for number one. Who wants to put meekness on their resume? It is not a value that is honored. Nice guys usually finish last. In our family meekness may not be a high value. When I was in high school, an older aunt said at a Thanksgiving dinner, “I don’t want to be meek. That’s terrible.” I think she misunderstood meekness as being timid, indecisive person, really passive, or a wimp. That’s not what Jesus is talking about.

Meekness is not a lack of backbone. Rather, the Greek term for meekness, praus, means, “the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance, gentleness, humility, courtesy, considerateness.”[i] Jesus was meek. Meekness is strength under control. It’s the ability to endure insults and move on. Meekness is not being aggressive, seeking after our own agenda and our good. It’s putting someone else first. As such, it is an incredible trait to have in our lives. Meek people have a quiet steadiness about their lives because they are utterly yielded to God. A meek person does not aggressively insist on their own rights. They control their emotions in the face of disappointing circumstances and behavior in others. Meek people know they will “inherit the earth,” meaning they will share in God’s kingdom one day. Since they are not grabbing for more, they can be at peace with what they have and don’t have, and they can enjoy what God provides, knowing what is to come.

Would I envy your nice car or new house if I knew that my Father owned the city and I was the beneficiary of his will? One day God will give the earth to the meek. How are you doing with meekness?

[1] Burnett, F. W. “Wisdom.” Ed. Joel B. Green and Scot McKnight. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels 1992: 873. Print.

[i]. (BAGD) [footnote the Greek lexicon]