Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth
To be meek is to be gentle, humble, not pursuing our own agenda, seeking other's interests before our own (Phil 2:4). Numbers 12:3 describes Moses as the meekest man on the face of the earth and the context of that chapter is Moses refusing to defend himself in the face of accusations and entrusting himself to God. Meekness is not weakness, Moses was the greatest leader of Jewish history. It is the opposite of self-centredness. It grows out of the first two beatitudes - when you recognise your spiritual poverty and take your sin seriously, you will be meek.
The meek will inherit the earth. This is the exact opposite of conventional wisdom. If you want to inherit the earth, if you want to achieve happiness and satisfaction, surely you've got to look out for number one? Surely you've got to aggressively pursue your own agenda because, if you don't look after yourself, who else will? Jesus says the opposite is true. True satisfaction, true happiness, true joy comes to the person who has been humbled by their own brokenness and thrown themselves on God's mercy. We are then free to do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3
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