Blessed Are the Meek on Social Media

The sunrise over the Silver Star Foothills is glorious this morning. Sipping my coffee, and taking a deep breath of mountain air, I thank God for his beautiful creation. I have just finished my devotions; I read through the beatitudes.  As the sun inches above the mountains, I decided to pick up my phone and scroll through Facebook.

I didn’t stay long.

Jesus’ words echoed in my mind as I was preparing to fire off a comment on a polarized post, “…Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth…”

As I pondered our Lord’s words, it struck a chord and I deleted my comment without sending it.

In his book, Kingdom Life in a Fallen World: Living Out the Sermon on the Mount, Sinclair Ferguson writes,

“It is the humble strength that belongs to the man who has learned to submit to difficulties (like difficult experiences and difficult people), knowing that in everything God is working for his good….There is probably no more beautiful quality in a Christian than meekness. It enhances manliness; it adorns femininity. It is a jewel polished by grace. But it is all too rare. Is that because so few of us know what it is to be poor in spirit and to mourn for our sins?

Meekness is not weakness; meekness is not ignoring issues. Meekness is not deleting my comment and turning off Facebook. Meekness is a measured strength.  Meekness is having control over my anger. Meekness is related to humility and gentleness. RC Sproul Writes,

Actually, the concept of meekness has no meaning unless we remember that it takes strength to display meekness and humility. The cowardly, insecure person is not really meek if he defers to others or is consistently self-deprecating, for it is in his nature to avoid conflict and remain a background player. On the other hand, the more power and courage that one has, the greater the need for that person to temper these qualities with grace and humility. We see this par excellence in the Son of God, who, though being in the form of God, did not count equality with God as something to be grasped for His own advantage at the expense of others.

As Christians we are called to be meek. The world would scoff at meekness. Rather, the world encourages us to be ambitious and forceful.  Even I am ambitious in my pursuit of building a business.  Every motivational poster, it seems, encourages us to  to be bold, and strong, and to act out for our own benefit. Get off your butt and take the bull by the horns! To be successful we shouldn’t sit back and rest. One of my mentors in business is fond of saying, “Get off your butt!” We shouldn’t be happy with second place.  You must act, because you are in control of your own destiny. If you are lacking something, it’s nobody’s fault but your own! This is the fruit of unbelief and is the opposite of meekness…and the world loves it.

The meek are not impulsive, they demonstrate a godly self control. Take the hour of Jesus arrest for instance.  Peter reacts and takes a blade and strikes the ear of the high priest’s servant… and Jesus reprimands Peter! Jesus was showing us that the kingdom does not come by human strength; it does not come through the tactics of this world. It comes in his own strength and in his own time. Even at the hour of his arrest, our Lord displayed great self control. He was a lamb led to the slaughter…silently. He would conquer the world through meekness. Christians are called to live in the meekness of our savior.  We would do well to remember self control, especially when engaging with posts on social media.

But are we not to be bold in Christ?

Yes of course, but not at the expense of meekness!  Paul often wrote about being both bold and gentle. He wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:1

 Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ – I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!

Even the impulsive Peter writes,

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

We are called to be bold, but to do it in a kind and compassionate way.  We are called to boldly speak the truth in love and gentleness. We are called to boldly correct our opponents with gentleness. In these unprecedented times, with instant information (and misinformation) at our fingertips, and the power of social media, it is important for us to remember these things.  We are Christ’s light in the dark world. We are called by the Lord to act against injustice (Psalm 82:3, Is. 1:17) all the while acknowledging that Scripture calls us to obey our civil authorities as long they are not preventing us from obeying the Lord (Romans 13:1-14, 1 Peter 2:13-14.) Meekness is something I must remember when engaging with people on social media.

On this fallen earth, the people of God will always be persecuted, whether it is being executed for our faith or simply mocked for it.  We must trust in the Lord to usher in his kingdom of justice and righteousness. Christ is the victor, Christ is the meek one, and it is by grace that we receive his reward. Jesus said that the meek inherit the earth. Not the wicked, self seeking, and arrogant. What does it mean to inherit the earth? I believe that Jesus is speaking of the new earth:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

Do you know who will enter this glorious new earth and dwell with God? The meek. As we wait for this promise…as we wait for this world to be transformed and renewed by God’s glory, we too must be transformed and renewed to inherit it. We must be transformed from selfish, arrogant, self seeking, to bold, gentle, humble and meek. Only by the Holy Spirit can this be achieved. Only he can regenerate the heart and make us like Christ – Meek.

As the sun reaches higher in the sky, my family is awakening form their slumber, and my vacation must resume.  My wife just asked me what I am working on…time to shut it down.

This scene is beautiful. Mountains, lake, sunshine. God’s creation is beautiful, but it is nothing compared our glorious inheritance.

I think it’s time for another cup of coffee.