We are on the 8th day of a 9-day journey to learn about all of the Fruit of the Spirit – the gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that come from God.
Meekness / Gentleness – “gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:23). “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).
The biblical qualities of meekness and gentleness are misunderstood and undervalued in today’s society of extremes—where all too often people tend to angrily overreact or passively underreact.
As we read above, the apostle Paul lists “meekness” as the eighth attribute among the fruit of the spirit in (Galatians 5:23) he uses the Greek noun praotes or prautes— and “meekness” is the closest translation for the Greek word used here. (Similarly, the closest English translation for the related Greek adjective praos or prausis “meek.”)
We are to be meek (yielded, teachable, responsive) first of all in our relationship with God, and secondly meek (humble, gentle, respectful) in our relationships with people. To become this kind of person, God must tame and train us!
A word with a closely-related meaning is magnanimous, defined as “generous in forgiving; avoiding resentment or revenge; unselfish.”
Meekness is an important part of true love. “Love is patient, love is kind … It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)
The Bible places great value on meekness. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5) That’s a mighty big reward for being meek!
But since “meek” is no longer a popular or commonly used word, modern Bible translations frequently substitute the almost-synonymous word “gentle.” Scriptures quoted in this article are mostly from the New King James Version, which uses “meek” and “gentle” interchangeably.
However, be aware that gentleness refers mostly to actions, whereas meekness refers to attitude—one’s whole state of mind as well as actions. Meekness produces gentleness. This explains why meekness is one of the beatitudes—beautiful attitudes for which God promises blessings.
God is calling people out of such darkness to be “the light of the world”—to set the right example for others (Matthew 5:14)
That’s a tall order. But God is ever ready to help us. Pray earnestly for His help. And make a habit of reading God’s Word so it can transform your thinking and way of life.
Remember that an important part of being that shining light is having godly meekness and gentleness. And someday the whole world will be a peaceful and happy place. That someday is when Christ returns and the meek inherit the earth!
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we pray today that you would draw us into meekness. We pray that you would soften our hearts, that you would remind us of the gift of gentleness, that you would show us through Jesus how to live in love day by day. We pray that you would forgive us of our sins and open our eyes and hearts to forgiveness for others in our lives. We ask that you would help us to guard our speech, that the words we say would be life-giving and glorifying to you. We are so grateful for your refining fire in our lives. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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Rob Lavallee
Scriptural Seeds Ministries
Scriptural Seeds Ministries 