Happy are the Gentle (Matthew 5:5)

1. Meek not Weak

When Jesus said blessed are the meek, he did not say weak.  Modern fashionable thinking often equates meekness with weakness, even Christians can be deceived into thinking that a gentle approach is somehow not imbued with dynamism and power from above. Sometimes gentle correction may seem to be not so genteel. Jesus scolded the Pharisees rather sharply, even calling them snakes and blind guides. Jesus challenges this popular assumption. He makes us think.

Worldly thinking, even worldly thinking among Christians, would tend to believe that the assertive, aggressive and forceful are the ones who ought to inherit the authority of heaven. Jesus says the exact opposite. Why? Certainly forceful and pushy people seem to win in ways that this world defines winning, but inwardly we often despise their arrogance and rudeness, so something definitely is wrong there. Outwardly they may appear to be winners, but privately they are often the chief losers.

2. Gentle and Kind

In Jesus' plan, the meek are blessed. It is not the hard-hitting and aggressive who will inherit the earth, but the gentle and kind. Why? What kind of leadership of the earth have we experienced for the most part? What results have rough and harsh management produced for us? If we think for a minute, we will understand that the result of harshly aggressive and brutally assertive rulership has not been a good outcome overall.

There are no truly free nations because no nation on earth is free from the results of brutality and violence. The opposite characteristic is what the earth needs in its leadership. Jesus is firm in his resolve that only the meek or gentle will inherit the earth. So, only those who repent, who experience a radical change in thinking from harsh to gentle, will be heirs of his kingdom.

3. History's Brutality

When Jesus said blessed are the meek he was speaking of a gentle lifestyle, not a rudely aggressive one. He promised that gentlemen and gentle women are blessed or happy. A great lesson of world history has been that brutality and hostilities between peoples only destroys. A missed lesson of history is that gentleness builds societies.

Meekness does not prevent us from asking others to make a decision. After all, Jesus did invite his disciples to "come, follow me." Nor, does meekness prevent us from giving strong correction when needed. Jesus strongly corrected various religious leaders 2,000 years ago. However, kindness is the opposite of the way much of the world operates. Gentle politics and gentle business practices would produce a much happier planet for us all.

4. Inherit the Land

When Jesus said blessed are the meek, he was probably referring to a well known Psalm (37:9) from the Old Testament when he says that the meek shall inherit the land. The word earth seems to imply the entire planet in our modern thinking, but in the Hebrew of the Old Testament reference, the word was referring to the land of Israel. The metaphor is obvious.

The ancient land of Israel pictures the spiritual kingdom of God, which will one day indeed encompass both heaven and earth. And the entirety of Psalm 37 pictures the meekness that Jesus is describing. Psalm 37 employs ideas like not being envious of evil doers, trusting in the Lord and doing good, not fretting because evil doers temporarily prosper, but to be among those who wait for God and will inherit the land.

5. Moderation and Kindness

In the long run, moderate politics and kind business dealings win. Political and business leaders are often ruthless and brutal. That's how too many made it to the top of the heap, by walking over the bodies of their fellows. But the end results of harshness and roughness are also profound unhappiness for themselves and everyone they touch. It is a variety of short-term thinking that destroys in the long run.

Jesus said blessed are the meek. Gentleness may sometimes seem to be a losing proposition in the short-term, but in the long run it is the winner. Jesus challenges our thinking by declaring that the results of being a true gentleman or gentle woman are the exact opposite to what we may think. Those outcomes are supreme happiness and an eternal inheritance in the kingdom of God.