Meekness

So at my high school awards ceremony I received the Outstanding Character Award and part of the definition for it is "showing meekness before God" I read that and I was like what in the world does meekness mean? So I figured since my school feels like i'm "meek" I should find out what that means. 


Soo I went to my favorite dictionary  m-w.com and this is the definition that I received: 

 enduring injury with patience and without resentment : mild  deficient in spirit and courage : submissive not violent or strong : moderate 

I'll admit when I first read the word meekness and looked at the definition I wasn't sure what to think, but I didn't feel like being called meek was a compliment, I felt like it was saying that I was weak. 

Then I realized, meekness is a fruit of the spirit so it must be a good thing that God wants us to cultivate. God also says "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. (matthew 5:5)" so obviously it's a good thing and something that I should strive to be.  SO what does it really mean to be meek? What does it look like to live that out in your life? These are the questions that I've been pondering and digging into God's word to try and figure out. I don't have it all together, but here are the thoughts that I have read and come up with:

-Prautes, according to Aristotle, is the middle standing between two extremes, getting angry without reason, and not getting angry at all. Therefore, prautes is getting angry at the right time, in the right measure, and for the right reason. . . . [I]t is a condition of mind and heart which demonstrates gentleness, not in weakness, but in power. It is a balance born in strength of character. 

-A meek person has a tender conscious with a godly sorrow for their rebellion against God 

- resistance to evil in defense of God yet they react with patience, kindness and gentleness when others attack him.

-A willingness to bend their will to God's 

-Opposed to pride and arrogance 

- A willingness to put himself in second place and submit himself to achieve what is good for others.

Examples of Meekness in the Bible: 

A. Abraham. 

1. He was God’s chosen to be the father of the Jewish nation. Through him the Messiah would come. But he was also meek.
2. Instead of demanding his own rights, Abraham sought to keep the peace between his herdsmen and Lot’s. 

B. David.

1. He was God’s chosen to replace King Saul, whom God had rejected because of disobedience. He was a mighty warrior and a great leader. But David was also meek.
2. Look at how he mourned the death of Saul, who had sought repeatedly to kill him

 Meekness may appear to men as weak, but in spiritual reality it has great strength. 

Okay this blog post has kind of been all over the place, but that's because I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what it means to be truly meek I still have so much to learn.  But I'll end with this really good quote by A.W. Tozer that was really helpful to me!

"The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God's estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is in the sight of God of more importance than angels. In himself, nothing; in God, everything. That is his motto."