"Blessed are meek, for they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5)
..........
What does this really mean? Does it mean literally that if we cower before others all of the time, or that if we roll over like a frightened dog and show our bellys at every scary experience, that we'll get everything in life which the world can offer us? I don't think so. What I'm asking is, "What REALLY does "meek" mean here, and how shall being meek help us actually "inherit the earth"?
I think that "meek" in this verse means that we have our passions under control. Yes, that we are "IN control", not of our world but of our EMOTIONS and our emotional-attachment to our own opinions, and our relationships, and especially how much we tend to glorify our "stuff". Yet, in my opinion, total self-control for a human is quite impossible. I rather choose to think that our lives need to be "God-centered, God-CONTROLLED", don't you think? That surely means that we acknowledge HIM in our daily activities.
So, am I actually toying with the concept of "humility" here? If I am, how do I define a humility which can be REALISTICALLY applied to my modernday life, anyway? How about, "living a life that has pride of self at least partially banished from it"? How about THAT? Can we all, at least, BEGIN to reach for the humility or Lord and Savior told us of? I am leaning to speak of humility quite highly here because I really don't think us humans can actually learn of eternal things, IF we do not first confront our own ignorance of them, these "eternal" things. What I mean is, couldn't we be more excellent students of Christ Jesus if we weren't already so very convinced, so very self-absorbed in our own knowledge, or what we THINK we have knowledge of ??
So, I guess the point of this post is, "Us humans can only BEGIN to reach for spiritual maturity when we start to become much more conscious that WE are the CREATED, and that GOD is the CREATOR, and that without God we can do nothing spiritually substantial. THAT is what I am talking about here.
So, just maybe, was Jesus telling us in this wonderful piece of Scripture that, "We are blessed when we stretch for the humility to know our own ignorance and weaknesses AND our true spiritual needs." ??? Yes, we HAVE to realize MUCH MORE FULLY that our human passions, our instincts and desires, and our basic human impulses MUST be kept under a discipline that is FAR beyond our own power, don't you think??
Proverbs 16:32 tells us that, "He that rules his spirit is better than he who takes a city." You see, no person can TRULY lead others until they start to master themselves. And no person can serve others until they have learned to control themselves. But, the person who gives themselves up to God, THAT person, if they give over their desires for control in their life to God, if even just a little bit a first; THAT person will begin to achieve a meekness, a humility which will enable him or her to inherit, to gain spiritual access, to the knowledge of their earthly and heavenly blessings, don't you think?? I sure do. And for anyone who has trouble with the terms, "meek" or "humble", as us men like to do, maybe the term, "gentle" will be more palpable, OK?
..........
Lord, may we EACH learn to be angry only at the right time, and not angry at all the wrong times. And may our very-human instincts and impulses, our desires and passions be placed under YOUR control, THROUGH our acknowledgment that we can't control these forces in us alone. Help us, Father, to have the humility to realize our own ignorance of You and our own weaknessess, so that we may walk more uprightly in YOUR Image, Oh God! Amen.
..........
"The Lord God is a sun and shield. And the Lord gives grace and mercy. No good thing does He without from them that walk uprightly." (Psalm 84:11)
.........
My Friends in Jesus Christ, may we all one day learn that us Homo Sapiens (which actually means to "walk upright") can also walk TRULY upright, just by seeking our Lord's Face INSTEAD of our own so much. May God speed us to this discovery.
Sincerely, tommy
..........
What does this really mean? Does it mean literally that if we cower before others all of the time, or that if we roll over like a frightened dog and show our bellys at every scary experience, that we'll get everything in life which the world can offer us? I don't think so. What I'm asking is, "What REALLY does "meek" mean here, and how shall being meek help us actually "inherit the earth"?
I think that "meek" in this verse means that we have our passions under control. Yes, that we are "IN control", not of our world but of our EMOTIONS and our emotional-attachment to our own opinions, and our relationships, and especially how much we tend to glorify our "stuff". Yet, in my opinion, total self-control for a human is quite impossible. I rather choose to think that our lives need to be "God-centered, God-CONTROLLED", don't you think? That surely means that we acknowledge HIM in our daily activities.
So, am I actually toying with the concept of "humility" here? If I am, how do I define a humility which can be REALISTICALLY applied to my modernday life, anyway? How about, "living a life that has pride of self at least partially banished from it"? How about THAT? Can we all, at least, BEGIN to reach for the humility or Lord and Savior told us of? I am leaning to speak of humility quite highly here because I really don't think us humans can actually learn of eternal things, IF we do not first confront our own ignorance of them, these "eternal" things. What I mean is, couldn't we be more excellent students of Christ Jesus if we weren't already so very convinced, so very self-absorbed in our own knowledge, or what we THINK we have knowledge of ??
So, I guess the point of this post is, "Us humans can only BEGIN to reach for spiritual maturity when we start to become much more conscious that WE are the CREATED, and that GOD is the CREATOR, and that without God we can do nothing spiritually substantial. THAT is what I am talking about here.
So, just maybe, was Jesus telling us in this wonderful piece of Scripture that, "We are blessed when we stretch for the humility to know our own ignorance and weaknesses AND our true spiritual needs." ??? Yes, we HAVE to realize MUCH MORE FULLY that our human passions, our instincts and desires, and our basic human impulses MUST be kept under a discipline that is FAR beyond our own power, don't you think??
Proverbs 16:32 tells us that, "He that rules his spirit is better than he who takes a city." You see, no person can TRULY lead others until they start to master themselves. And no person can serve others until they have learned to control themselves. But, the person who gives themselves up to God, THAT person, if they give over their desires for control in their life to God, if even just a little bit a first; THAT person will begin to achieve a meekness, a humility which will enable him or her to inherit, to gain spiritual access, to the knowledge of their earthly and heavenly blessings, don't you think?? I sure do. And for anyone who has trouble with the terms, "meek" or "humble", as us men like to do, maybe the term, "gentle" will be more palpable, OK?
..........
Lord, may we EACH learn to be angry only at the right time, and not angry at all the wrong times. And may our very-human instincts and impulses, our desires and passions be placed under YOUR control, THROUGH our acknowledgment that we can't control these forces in us alone. Help us, Father, to have the humility to realize our own ignorance of You and our own weaknessess, so that we may walk more uprightly in YOUR Image, Oh God! Amen.
..........
"The Lord God is a sun and shield. And the Lord gives grace and mercy. No good thing does He without from them that walk uprightly." (Psalm 84:11)
.........
My Friends in Jesus Christ, may we all one day learn that us Homo Sapiens (which actually means to "walk upright") can also walk TRULY upright, just by seeking our Lord's Face INSTEAD of our own so much. May God speed us to this discovery.
Sincerely, tommy
