Meekness is a tough concept for some people. This "turn the other cheek" stuff seems to fly in the face of the way life needs to be lived sometimes. It's not always easy to put others first, especially when it might cost you personally.
     I was reading in a devotional the other day about a softball playoff game between two universities in the Northwest. A player names Sara stepped to the plate with her team behind by two runs. The pitcher delivered the ball and Sara smashed the first home run of her career. It was a three run shot that would give her team the lead. As she rounded first base, her left knee buckled. She hit the ground, suffering intense pain.
     According to the rules, the run could not be scored unless she ran the bases and no one on her team was allowed to help her. It seemed that her team would not have the lead and what could have been her first home run would be erased from the record-book before it could be written down.
     A funny thing happened at this point in the game. The opposing team's first baseman went to the umpire and asked if the rules prohibited her team from helping Sara. He said there was nothing in the rules to stop them from assisting her. The first baseman and one of her teammates picked Sara up and walked her around the bases to home plate.
     When this incident occurred, it received a lot of publicity in the press. Why? Because these women did the unexpected. They put victory aside and did what was kind, gentle and considerate. They humbled themselves, risked a loss for their team and put another person - from an opposing team - first. Their actions are a great example of what Jesus describes as meek.