Meekness is often confused with timidity, even shyness, perhaps naïve behavior. It may be faked as a ruse for selfish purposes. Charles Dickens used it effectively in this way in David Copperfield. Herod faked it with the Magi, so promising to go to wherever they found the babe – so that he would go and worship him also. He played a duplicity role when he had the babes of Bethlehem murdered so as to include the unidentified person noted by the Magi. Humility is the larger term that includes meekness, but meekness has a cultural meaning with an attitude in it that is included in the clusters of Christian virtues. It is defined as humble, mild, poor, lowly, afflicted, needy and gentle. It often appears as a synonym for humility, but possesses its own meaning that identifies a person as quiet, but strong. It holds extra implications found in words compelling their own meaning in the context used. In real life it is a sign of cool strength for life.
Jesus honored meekness and made it a part of the introduction of the Sermon on the Mount. He likely referred to the humble; lowly (common persons, including peasants, who knew the limited extent of their lives in difficult and conflicting societies); needy (gaining less respect than what ought to be afforded for life); and, the gentle (patient and accepting, without anger). This holds without losing awareness of one’s value with God. In the meekness context, Jesus announced to the people that everyone has worth – they belong and God cares for them even to their ultimate inheritance. They are given hope, and hope (life after death) is made one of the great tri-reality features for spiritual persons – Faith, Hope and Love. (1 Corinthians 13) Humility has something to do with redemption, when spiritual salvation is applied to daily life. Meekness is living out whole faith. It is the enemy of arrogance, and affirms the rightful meaning for dignity one ought to hold, under God. This is enfolded within self for those living it – to be recognized but not flaunted. Humility, shown in repentance is an ingredient in one’s assurance of redemption. All of this impacts the culture of the Christian. There are movements of Christians trying to find it in their organizational processes, but sometimes lose it in fumbling both in the education of followers, and in a kind of legalism that reduces the individual’s freedom to open ways so to discover appropriate personal context. It is important to remember that Jesus addressed the individual context before he proceeded to the social. The social is the context in which the individual includes or excludes factors in relationship with others. This will not go well without meekness and humility. The Apostle Paul used meekness well in a Roman world. Without meekness, Moses would never have been received and released by Pharaoh.
Meekness is strength that may be interpreted by brash and assertive persons as timidity, even cowardliness. Many onlookers, including God, will see it as strength held in reserve so as not to be overtly judgmental; not to be overly aggressive, but in a willingness to adapt to whatever has been given; and, not withholding effort because of the unevenness of matters and treatment. Meek persons are not expecting the imperfect world to be like a perfect heaven. They adapt to the complexity and find the good, willing to wait for whatever is better. They may sigh, yearning for something better, but working, living and responding victoriously even when much seems to be going against better situations – situations possible if everyone, or even a minority, will do some right things. The meek person knows there are various ways to solve problems, and that solutions may fail, oftentimes because presumed followers will not make them work. God honors the will to solve problems personal or social. In recognition of human follies the meek press on, to accept the possible in a conflicting world. It is presumed to be the better or best possible among the options.
Human meekness incorporates an accepting attitude toward God, and in its way, toward mankind. There are possible unsettling attitudes towards God that can weaken faith. We would like to know why God puts up with much that happens in nature, and the affairs of mankind that include not only tension and warfare, but illness, pain, tragedy, evil, and accompanying negative factors. The meek person does not deny these paradoxes and contradictions to life, but meekness accepts the authority of God’s plan for all issues to an agreeable conclusion in God’s time. For the meek, God’s timing, whatever it is, is theirs. We learn about a person of true meekness in a careful study of Moses or Jesus. (Exodus 32:1-35) *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020