Meek, not weak
Contend to the End Part II
My sermon prep this weekend is quite unique: I’m in Flint, Michigan at my Aunt’s house visiting another aunt who is dying from cancer. It’s a bittersweet time because I’m here to say goodbye to the aunt who is responsible for my given name—yes, my aunt named me! But it’s fun because I get to see some family who I haven’t seen in a very long time. It is also very weird because my aunt is a widow, lives alone, and has no animals—her house is spotless and quiet which as a dad with 10 kids, is like a new experience!! The encouraging thing is that both of my aunts (and my uncle to whom one is married) know and love Jesus. The comfort and peace that is only from the Holy Spirit is obvious.
Meekness. . .if you’ve spent any time in church, you’ve heard the beatitude from Matthew 5:5 quoted: “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” So often this verse is entirely misunderstood or misused because we don’t really know what it means to be “meek”. Jordan Peterson (the Canadian professor and psychologist) even quoted this verse during a talk one time and as a non-believer, he understood the deeper meaning. Peterson said during this lecture that the word “meek” always bothered him in this verse; it must not be the right word he opined. However, he learned what it means and defined it as: “those who have weapons and know how to use them but still keep them sheathed.”
Meekness is NOT weakness and once again using Peterson’s definition, Jude’s call to arms, and Paul’s outline of the Armor of God these descriptions are not of something WEAK!!
This week we’ll look at meekness and see what Paul has to say about being a meek Christ-follower in light of Jude’s battle cry. This Sunday we’ll be in the opening chapters of Philippians as we see the Apostle Paul urging on the faithful believers in Philippi to be meek, not weak.
Pastor Chad Roche