Is it weakness to be gentle? Is it cowardly to turn the other cheek? In truth, strength is found in walking humbly in meekness. Without meekness, one will never inherit the territory God has for him. We could never influence society for His Kingdom without it. Meekness is strength that is restrained. Other words for it are “mild,” “forbearance” or “gentleness.” It means having a calm demeanor, which makes one approachable. True meekness is strength under the control of the Holy Spirit. That means if a person is going to correctly walk in it, he will have to humble himself before the Lord. That means denying himself, picking up his cross and following Jesus (see Matthew 16:24). Speaking of Jesus, if He was not meek we would never know the Father. When reading Revelation, we find that in the Second Coming He will return with power and He will not be holding back judgment when He does. Meekness kept us from being judged before the appointed time, as well as facing the second death (see Revelation 20:1-15). Jesus could have displayed His power in vengeance. He could have had angels fight for Him before the Crucifixion (see Matthew 21:1-5; 26:47-57; John 18:1-12). In fact, if He did not willingly lay His life down in meekness, there never would have been the Cross of Christ and we would still be lost in our sins. There would have been no acceptable Sacrifice given to God in our stead. In essence, His meekness gave us strength.
If we are going to be approachable, we will have to maintain a spirit of meekness. Being self-righteous is not exactly meekness and humility in action. It would be difficult at best to share the Gospel if one were to take such a posture. How many of us like discussions with arrogant people? Self-righteousness is religious arrogance and it teaches a different gospel (see Galatians 1:6-9). Think about this, we are able to approach God because He is meek. The Father is very gentle with us even when He disciplines us. In fact, discipline is meekness in action. Without it, it would be punishment. God never corrects His children out of anger. Anger does not control Him, nor does it speak for Him. The Father restrains His anger for our benefit. If we are going to represent God well, we need to keep this in mind when dealing with others, especially if you are a parent or have a place of influence in a child’s life.
Gentleness enables us to minister to and restore one another. It does not harshly criticize people for failure. Galatians 6:1-2 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. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (KJV). Meekness does not condone sin; it combats sin. In fact, it is ruthless when it comes to sin. It seeks to destroy sin without destroying the person who has erred from the Truth. It makes room for repentance, which is also an act of vengeance (see 2 Corinthians 7:1-16). While our goal is pleasing God and our motivation behind it is love, repentance infuriates the enemy of our souls. He wants nothing more than to hurt the Father by destroying our lives. When it gets down to it, meekness is a weapon in spiritual combat.
This virtue is difficult to maintain in our own strength. Fortunately, it is part of the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-24), which means the Holy Spirit enables us to do what we could not do otherwise. This explains those moments when we “kept our cool” when we would have normally exploded on someone. With the help of the Holy Spirit, it is possible to keep our composure under the most difficult circumstances. By yielding to Him, we can maintain a posture of peace. Through meekness, we are able to reconcile differences and maintain relationships. It keeps doors open that would otherwise be shut in our faces. All it takes is a willingness to humble ourselves before the Lord and allow His gentleness to flow through us. If we do not insist on having our way, we will allow Him to have His.
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