Five Principles of Meekness (Remix)

I LOVE the football commercials where these big, strong NFL players are shown to block and knock people off their feet and perform feats of strength. Then in the very same commercial, they are told to sit down and shut up and eat their soup by their mother. These big, strapping strong guys who are the epitome of strength on the field become humble as lambs when their mama shows up. Pir soup, it's not that the football player has lost any of his strength, his power, or his speed. None of that has changed. But now, his power is in submission to a higher authority.

Meekness is not cower power but it is a quality of strength. The AMG Bible Dictionary defines meekness as

Being, "the very opposite of all that is self-centred, and therefore is a quality of strength. It enables a person not merely to be patient when suffering unjust criticism or persecution, but to be positively forgiving . The meek person does not demand revenge, but leaves the matter in God's hands (Num 12:1-3; 16:4-5; 1 Peter 2:20-23). He does not insist upon his rights, but when circumstances arise where he is forced either to defend himself or correct an opponent, he does so with gentleness (2 Tim 2:25; 1 Peter 3:15).

Meekness is a characteristic of life in Christ's kingdom (Matt 5:5); therefore, those who enter that kingdom must exercise meekness (Matt 20:25-26). They will learn to do this as the indwelling Spirit of God changes them into the likeness of Christ and produces the quality of meekness in them (Gal 5:22-23; Phil 2:3-5). (see also Humility.)

The AMG Concise Bible Dictionary.

One of the meekest men in history was John the Baptist. He was such a powerful figure that Josephus, the great Jewish historian, reports many years later when John's name was mentioned people still trembled at the thought of him. Jesus' eulogy of John was that he was "greater than any man born of woman." Yet when he saw the Christ, instead of giving a speech about his own great accomplishments, he sent his disciples to Jesus telling them, "He must increase but I must decrease." When asked who he was, he simply said, "I am nobody. I am to be heard, not to be seen. I am just a voice." Did you ever notice that David never describes his victory of Goliath in all of the psalms? We live in a time of superlatives—the greatest evangelist, the greatest preacher, the greatest theologian, the greatest actor—we desire dignity, position. We want some title and to be addressed properly. No wonder Christ cannot be seen. Paul called himself "the least of all the apostles." Where is our pride? Where is our meekness?

Jesus is of course our example of meekness and Moses describes himself according to Numbers 12:3 (KJV)

3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) This is not a proud boast but rather his position of dependence upon God. You remember the setting when Moses wrote this it was more of a testimony than a description - Aaron and Miriam was causing a disturbance and a stink because the Lord used Moses and married an Ethiopian woman - why would the Lord only speak thru Moses - Moses did not try to defend his position an leadership but he went to the Lord and let the Lord handle it and the Lord handled it pretty severely, Miriam was struck with leprosy and had to leave the camp for several days before her healing.

There are five principles of meekness I'd like to consider tonight

Principle of Retaliation Matthew 5:38-42 (KJV)

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Luke 6:27-31 (KJV)

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Principle of Reason 1 Peter 3:15 (KJV)

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

2 Timothy 2:25 (KJV)

25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

Principle of Restoration Galatians 6:1 (KJV)

1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Principle of Rule 1 Corinthians 6:7-8 (KJV)

7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

A MEEK person bows low before God so that they can stand tall among men. It is a willingness to bow. The biggest players on a football team are the offensive linemen. They are the biggest, they are the strongest, but they're also the ones who go the lowest when it's time to run a play. The biggest and strongest get down and go the lowest because that's where they get their leverage to perform. The bigger you are, the more meek you should be, because the bigger you are or the bigger you think you are, the more out of control you might tend to be.

Principle of Relationships Ephesians 4:2 (KJV)

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

Stephen P. Beck writes:

Driving down a country road, I came to a very narrow bridge. In front of the bridge, a sign was posted: "Yield." Seeing no oncoming cars, I continued across the bridge and to my destination.

On my way back, I came to the same one-lane bridge, now from the other direction. To my surprise, I saw another "Yield" sign posted.

Curious, I thought. I'm sure there was one positioned on the other side.

When I reached the other side of the bridge, I looked back. Sure enough, yield signs had been placed at both ends of the bridge. Drivers from both directions were requested to give the othe

r the right of way. It was a reasonable and gracious way of preventing a head-on collision.

When the Bible commands Christians to "be subject to one another" (Eph. 5:21), it is simply a reasonable and gracious command to let the other have the right of way and avoid interpersonal head-on collisions.