"Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." This idea of meekness is the antithesis of the Saturday westerns I grew up watching. It is about as foreign a notion today as is death-do-we-part marriage, that is it gets a lot of lip service good and bad, but few practice it and fewer still believe in it. Nevertheless, the meek will endure long after the mighty have fallen. This will shock everyone, but the meek for whom the question was never in doubt. The reason this will come as a shock to so many is that they have the wrong idea of what constitutes meekness. Most people believe meekness is synonymous with weakness. Nothing could be further from the truth. The meek possess a strength greater than any weapon arrayed against them. The advance of the meek cannot be turned back by violence, persecution or the threat of death.
Submitted for your approval, a case in point. Three meek young men living in exile under a tyrant are commanded to bow down and worship the king's image every time they here music. This law is contrary to the young men's faith. The three quietly refuse to obey and they are subsequently arrested. Because the are meek there is no complaint from the three. They refuse to call for waving of flags; protest marches; or riots in retaliation for their arrest. The three are allowed to speak in their defense. They offer nothing except their faith and are condemned to death by fire. They are marched to their execution without protest or apology; still steadfast in their faith. The three young men are thrown into the fire, but they will not burn. The king orders their release from the fire and rescinds the law. Meekness triumphed over might. Now, the king in our story becomes very famous. However, his fame cannot compare to that of the three young men named: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. You may know them by the names immortalized in the Book of Daniel: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Peter struggled to learn the quality of meekness. Perhaps that's why he described it so well when he wrote: "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God...For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously..."
The meek aren't looking for applause or admiration. Neither do they seek vengeance, speak threats, or condemn sinners. There is no need for these things while God is on the throne of heaven. The meek seek God. He is the answer to all indignities forced upon them and the answer to their sufferings.
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