The Meek of the World

 

[Jesus said] “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5 ESV).

 

A very good friend of mine, Jamie McClain, who serves as the senior pastor of the Denton County Cowboy Church, is also perhaps the best “cowboy” I know. I make no claim to that ability, though I have come to understand some of what is necessary to get a horse “saddle broken.” The term "broken" refers to a horse that is considered safe to ride and has all his basic manners. Breaking a horse is the practice of training him to be ridden. It involves teaching the young horse to accept a saddle, a bridle and the weight of the rider on his back. The goal is to develop “meekness” in the Biblical sense in the horse. It is not an easy task.

 

In our reading today, Jesus continues to teach the crowds of people gathered that another one of the characteristics of a believer is “meekness.” So often today we have come to see that aggressive behavior is rewarded and come to the wrong conclusion that the way to success is through aggression. Jesus insists that under his leadership, aggression is out. Those who are meek and gentle, who are slow to anger and patient in the face of provocation, are truly happy. A meek person doesn’t fuel the fires of conflict with unfair accusations. Being meek means letting your temper chill when you’d rather argue with your spouse. It means showing patience with your children. It means not losing your cool when coworkers repeat their mistakes. It means allowing Jesus to be the master of our strength and will just as a rider masters the strength and will of a good horse.

 

Meekness is often difficult for us because it seems like weakness. But it’s really about patience and self-control, which require great strength. In going to the cross, Jesus illustrates that the path to great life is through longsuffering love. Jesus was humble and meek for our sake. The Apostle Paul said to the Philippians:

 

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8 ESV).

 

It is through this characteristic that we “inherit the earth.” How saddle broke are you?