The fruit of meekness is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, bearing the fruit of meekness is a sign of strength. Meekness means “humility,”[1] “mildness,”[2] and “a calm temper of mind, not easily provoked.”[3] Such heroes as Abraham, Moses, David and Paul were noted to bear the fruit of meekness. Meekness is ultimately exemplified in Jesus Christ.[4]
Humility:
Pride is against the very nature of God and is at the root of all sin. Pride precedes destruction. A haughty spirit precedes a fall.[5] Pride is one of the seven abominations unto God.[6] In a nutshell, pride is anti-God.
With the advent of so many celebrities and their egos, everyone seems to think they are all that and a bag of chips too! But celebrities are not who the fruit-bearing believer patterns their life after. Don’t think of yourself as something you are not. Instead, use sober judgment and measure yourself according to God and His Word.[7] Be willing to be the servant. Be willing to do the menial jobs. Remember that faithfulness in small things is no small thing. I am eternally thankful to Pastor Jim Gideon who taught me this lesson by his lifestyle and literally. I remember approaching him, telling him I was called to preach. I was excited, and just knew that I would be on the schedule for the following Sunday. Instead, Pastor Gideon said, “Great! I would like you start emptying the trash cans, picking up the song books, and making sure the bathrooms are clean every week.” Now, I was only eleven, but I remember wondering what cleaning had to do with preaching. Looking back on that moment, I realize what I was being taught – to minister means to serve, and if I wasn’t willing to do the simple stuff, I wouldn’t be worth my salt behind the pulpit.
Meekness causes me to be willing to do any job, great or small, with excellence. If you’re not willing to serve in humility, then you’re not really a servant. The way to know if you’re a servant or not is to rate your reaction when treated like one. How do you respond? Does your pride compel you anger? Or do you just continue serving regardless?
Mildness:
Unfortunately, in my research for this chapter, I discovered many resources had negative connotations to the words humble, meekness, and other synonyms related to the fruit of meekness. Thus my chapter title, “Being meek isn’t weak.” I did find one definition that was not negative, “gentle in nature or behavior: has a mild disposition.”[8] When you understand what it means to bear the fruit of meekness, you will understand that it’s a sign of strength.
Calm temper of mind:
The choice is yours. You can choose to bear meekness or not. The decision starts with a made up mind. The answer to making up your mind and keeping it focused on bearing fruit is found in Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
My grandpa used to say, “Use your head for something besides a hat-rack.” Which being interpreted, meant, “Engage your brain!” While hurts and life’s circumstances are not by choice, everything that follows is. Psychology teaches that anger is an emotion, but I disagree. Anger is a choice. You have two different paths to choose when hurts happen: you can make up your mind to react negatively with anger, resentment, and ultimately bitterness. Or you can choose to react with love, forgiveness, and ultimately reconciliation.
Often people blame their past or their parents for their decisions and this too is troubling: especially for those that have been born again. You see, if you’ve been born again, you are a new creature in Christ; old things are passed away and all things are become new.[9] Furthermore, the Bible instructs us to “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”[10] teaching us to be humble as He was, and to allow His help to be meek. Thus, if you’re born again, you have not only your own willpower, but holy power to have a calm temper of mind.
The reason that some born again believers don’t bear the fruit of meekness is they have disregarded their conscience. Doing this is like changing the dial on an analog radio and trying to find the station again without the static. The more you do this, the less likely you are to get back to the original quality you were listening to before you turned the dial. So, tune in to the leading of the Spirit and produce the fruit of meekness. Even those that mock you for being mild and calm will secretly and someday openly respect you for being so strong.
Not easily provoked:
Ultimately everyone can be provoked; it just takes some a lot longer to get there. Unfortunately it also takes some a long time to become unprovoked. Each of us has buttons that when pushed we react in ways we wish we wouldn’t. So the key is identifying what those buttons are and rewiring them so that they don’t affect us negatively.
Maybe you possess inner rage over being hurt by a sibling and seem unwilling to forgive. Ask God for help overcoming your fear of forgiveness, and strength to lay aside the weight of you resentment.
Some may feel hurt by the lack of having a loving parent. To constantly ponder this is like constantly picking a scab; it will never heal and only become more infected. Take your bitterness to an altar before it eats you alive and ask God to put His Neosporin ointment (anointing) on the scab.
Do some soul-searching and discover what provokes you. Deal with that issue accordingly and swiftly allowing the fruit of meekness to be perfected in you. Your coworkers, family, and friends will appreciate the new you. You will like yourself better. God will be pleased with you. You see, it’s a win-win situation!
When discovering what provokes you, you might be surprised to find that what you dislike about others or a situation is really what you dislike about yourself. It’s easier for us to see other’s mistakes than it is ours. Point your finger at anything. Now, look real hard at your hand. You have three fingers pointing back at you. The point is, what provokes you is most likely inward rather than outward.
[1] Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (#4236)
[2] Thayer’s Greek Lexicon (#4236)
[3] Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary
[4] Matthew 11:29
[5] Proverbs 16:18
[6] Proverbs 6:16-19
[7] Romans 12:3
[8] Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary (mild)
[9] 2 Corinthians 5:17
[10] Philippians 2:5
