Jesus taught the beatitudes to give us a guide on the attitudes that would help us navigate life and make a success of it. The Beatitudes can be found in the fifth chapter of the bible book of Matthew, from verse 1-12:
In this piece, we would be considering the fifth verse where Lord Jesus tells us, “Blessed are the meek”, because, “They shall inherit the earth.”
One thing we have not always found easy to do in Christendom is to obey. Here, our Master, Jesus, tells us how to win in the battlefield of life on earth; He says we’ll win by being meek.
Meek to what end? To understand the word meek, we have to understand the way a herd of sheep follow their leader. For example, if a herd of sheep is crossing the road, the others immediately begin to follow as soon as the leader begins to cross. They do not bother to individually check the road before they cross. They just follow!
So, to be meek, you just follow the life principles taught in the Word of God, whether it is convenient for you to do so or not, whether you fully understand why or not: As the Bible say, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5-6.
A follower of Jesus Christ must mean business; to follow the Master all the way.
I remember a period when I faced severe financial hardship and I went into concerted prayer to find out from God why I was ‘failing’ in business. He dropped these words in my spirit; “Love never fails”.
God’s Word means business
I went to look up the scripture on ‘Love’ in 1Corinthians: 13 and found the passage very challenging. I questioned some of the demands on a believer in that scripture and decided that God would have to be considerate, He wouldn’t expect an ordinary human being to live by all that? But God’s Word means business.
We are to simply obey it; then we would prove its efficacy: “But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33.
We don’t get anywhere by insisting that God should explain Himself to us before we begin to get about it. It is only by practicing the Word of God that we learn of its ability to deliver on all it promises us. David in Psalm 34:8 said, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
How else do we take refuge in God but by trusting and obeying His Word?
At the time, my priority was to ‘succeed’, that is, make money while God’s priority was to reform me; build my character, and then, I can ‘succeed’. If you make all the money in the world and you do not have love in your heart, you may be a ‘mogul’ before men but before God and His saints, you are nothing.
According to 1Corinthians 13:1, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”
Today, having gone through many processes of pruning under God, I realise that there is much more to life than money. I have seen crazy reliance on God and His grace solve problems for me that money could never do, if I had it.
He slowed me down through the seemingly unending setbacks I have suffered, to get me to this important realisation. Sometimes Christians are tempted to take up arms (verbal, physical, do-unto-them attitude, etc.) against those who wrong them, whereas Jesus clearly warned that “those who live by the sword will die by the sword”.
If you take up a sword in your defense, swords will necessarily come after you in return. So, why not stay focused- do not wield physical weapons, wait for God to make it right for you. Let your weapon be obedience to the Word and Counsel of God.
Obedience to the Word of God is a far more powerful arsenal than trying to ‘prove the stuff you are made of’ to others. Obey God and watch Him fight your battles for you. Be more determined to have your circumstances change you for the better, than to spend time trying to change others- to make them respect you, restore to you, apologise to you, admit to wrongdoing…
This means you often have to swallow hard, phlegm and all. You will groan many times inwardly but hey, just do it.This requires meekness- a mindset to totally obey God. It does not mean sycophancy; it does not mean subjugation to fellow men. As you mature, you’d realise that it simply means focus.
The beatitudes speak of attitudes to situations that endear us to God; that bring solutions to the problems of this life, that score us high in the kingdom of heaven. Everything under contention will end up on your laps; every work of opposition will end in your favour if only you will obey God and resist the temptation to fight other people back.
Oftentimes, people stagnate themselves when they insist on staying on one spot to fight it out whereas they could ‘letgo’ and move on faster to greater achievements. Instead of complaining, work harder, go the extra mile, cheerfully.
Please this does not mean that you will lose your voice, no. You will use it positively and not as an instrument of vengeance. We have to submit totally to God, lean back and let the Master fight for us. Others may see you as a weakling, don’t let that bother you. It takes a lot of strength, self control, to resist the natural human desire to get even.
Moses, the great leader of Israel was acknowledged as the meekest man on earth in Numbers 12:3. That was the secret of his greatness. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1Peter 5:6