"Blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth"
The word gentle is the Greek word praus, which is probably better translated meekness. Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon explains, "Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting.”
The idea of meekness in very practical terms is that your expectations do not have to dominate. You are able to yield the right to get your way. You are willing to accept the melody of another and play your part in the symphony of life without demanding to be conductor. We all want, and to some degree internally believe, that our ideas, desires, expectations, and potential scenarios should take place. But they don't. There are people in authority over us. There is a world around us. There is a God above us. There are all kinds of people whose expectations flow into our lives and dictate how we live. Can you handle that or does it make you angry?
Jesus is saying that a part of the blessed life is the ability to adjust to the intrusions that God and others bring. There are some things that we do not have any choice in. It is these things that display our meekness. Jesus is saying that you cannot live a blessed life if you will not fit in with what God is doing. There are many people who insist on playing their own melody and no one will stop them. It does not matter if it destroys their family. It does not matter if it destroys their body. It does not matter if it destroys their potential, their career, their community. They want to do what they want to do. They will not fit in. They will not modify their tune. They are the personification of Frank Sinatra's "I did it my way." This is the opposite of meekness.
God says, Come play My tune. Come I want to bless you. Come if you are weary of fighting Me and everyone else and learn a different way of living that goes along with the natural flow of life. Come learn to play the instrument you were meant to play in the symphony of life; you will enjoy life so much better. You think you are giving up your life when you agree to become meek, but really you are finding your life.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz