Meekness Is Not Weakness

Meekness Is Not Weakness

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5 NIV84).

As followers of Christ, we are called to be meek, but we must not confuse meekness with weakness. And there is no greater example of the contrast between meekness and weakness than Jesus and Pontius Pilate. I encourage you to read all four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, especially John 18:29–19:16.

Despite Jesus being falsely accused, lied about, cruelly mistreated, and abused, He retained self-control and a calm, fearless yet meek dignity founded on the strength of His righteous character and trust in His Father that could not be shaken by any worldly assault.

By contrast, Pilate, though empowered with earthly authority that was reinforced by Roman soldiers, demonstrated weakness of character: a fear of what others thought, a willingness to compromise his own judgment and choose the wrong, even when convicted of what was right, merely to avoid the accusation of being disloyal to Caesar and face the potential loss of position and power.

Jesus was meek and strong. Pilate was weak and wrong.

Meekness is a trait of character that stems from the outworking of God’s love operating in the heart; weakness of character stems from fear dominating the heart.

As soon as Adam sinned, he ran and hid because he was afraid (Genesis 3:10). Fear that incites selfishness is part of the infection of sin. But “there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18 NIV84).

Love focuses our concern on others. Fear focuses on self. Love is willing to sacrifice self for others, whereas fear sacrifices integrity, principle, honor, truth, and others to protect self. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16 NIV84).

The meek love God and others and are not afraid to stand for God’s truth; the weak are driven by fear and will compromise the truth to protect themselves.

The meek, having been reborn into God’s kingdom of love, experience godly self-control (Galatians 5:23); the weak remain fearful and selfish and seek to make themselves feel safe by trying to control others. These weak people “are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (Romans 1:29–31 NIV84).

The meek love others, seek to bless others, and understand that love grows only in freedom; they advance the autonomy of others. But the weak are jealous of others, fear not having what others have, and seek to control others.

The meek present the truth in love and leave others free; the weak lie, manipulate, and coerce all in order to protect themselves.

The religious leaders in Christ’s day were weak in character, consumed with fear—fear of loss of power, position, authority, and respect; rather than rejoicing in Jesus and admitting they were wrong, they instead worked to destroy Him.

Jesus taught His disciples to be meek, to respect the choices of those with whom they sought to share the gospel. If people didn’t want to listen, the disciples were not to take personal offense, become angry, or seek to retaliate. Instead, they were to recognize that such people were injuring themselves and to simply move on to those who did want to hear the truth, without carrying any of the “dirt” of the rejection with them. “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” (Matthew 10:14 NIV84). The meek present the truth in love and leave people free.

But the weak in character, if not in positions that enable them to assert control over others, will instead either find someone powerful for them to believe in, follow, surrender themselves to, and become their adherent and pawn; or they become a behind-the-scenes conniver, plotter, and manipulator of others—like Judas, who sought to manipulate Jesus through behind-the-scenes betrayal.

The meek stand firm for truth in the face of opposition; they don’t compromise truth or God’s principles to garner favor. The weak present what they believe others want to hear in order to be accepted, seeking to manage people around them to keep themselves in good standing.

So, I encourage you, as a follower of Christ, through the grace and love of God, to be meek—but never weak! For Jesus is coming soon to receive those who have been transformed to be like Him. For “we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2 NIV84).

Yes, “blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth!” (Matthew 5:5 NIV84).

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I’m a native Ghanan, but am currently in France for my master’s degree. Prior to this, during my final years at undergraduate studies in Ghana, I was introduced to your ministry and I’ve been immensely blessed by what you share, especially about the Design and Imposed Laws. God richly bless you for that.

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Two years ago I stumbled upon your book, “Could It Be This Simple,” and then found “The God-Shaped Brain” videos on YouTube, your bible study class, and the ‘Come And Reason’ mobile app. I shared your book with a friend and after nine months of showing love, patience, and kindness this person has been changed by the love of God, too. The same love that healed me, I now express to other women in tangible ways, such as to a Baptist woman with high anxiety and childhood trauma. She was extremely happy and relieved when I shared about the so-called “judgment of God” and burning in hell. She had no desire to serve a God that was so harsh. I have repeated the phrase dozens of times to her. “What we believe has power over us, but we have power over what we believe…”

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Jill L., Midwest, USA

 

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Testimony 54

I had a lot of pressure, as a pastor’s kid, to conform and be “good.” I was good at being “good.” I thought my life was going along well until it all started falling apart and I could not figure out why! In my search for “why is this happening to me, God?” I came across your book, “Could it be this Simple,” and God started revealing to me the many distortions I held about His character, His principles, and how He has designed His universe to operate. I remember thinking, “Wow, I have had this all backwards.” I was happy and angry all at the same time. Happy to have the light of truth break through the darkness, revealing a wonderful, beautiful way of understanding God and His plan for His children, and angry, because I felt deceived and cheated by the church, my family, and myself!

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Karen S., Portal, AZ, USA

 

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Testimony 62

I would like to express my thanks to the C&R team for creating a platform from which people can learn to trust in God and grow. My life is a witness to the effectiveness of this ministry. Without believing the truth about God as you have shown, I don’t know what my life would be like. I had given up on God helping me with certain sins – it was all useless. Given that the scripture is clear and God is so good, how could I have betrayed him so many times? I was a yo-yo christian; spinning up and down. My faith and enthusiasm was driven by discoveries/threats that prophecy is about to be fulfilled. But when I watched your “Healing the Mind” seminar, it was like a light finally went on. I could see God had no plan to hurt me, the danger came from sin, and that He is working to protect me and strengthen me. Thank you for allowing God to use you. The message God gave C&R saved my life!

Antony N. – Hobart, Australia

 

Testimony 42

I am just writing to say that I have been so blessed by the teachings of Come And Reason Minitries recently. I watched last week’s bible study lesson on Youtube and am thankful that the error in the printed lesson guide you use was pointed out and this week’s study was of equal benefit, if not more so. My understanding of God’s nature has been very confused of late and I am so grateful for clarity in this matter. I have never really fully understood previously how a good God can cause bad things to happen and now I realise that He doesn’t, it’s a natural consequence of sin. May the almighty Father and His Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, continue to bless your ministry.

Laura P., United Kingdom

 

Testimony 56

I cannot thank you enough for opening my understanding to the beautiful truth of God’s Law of Love and how it applies to everything. I have been a Christian for over forty years, but I feel like I am only now seeing with my eyes open. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

Tammy Cinzio, Australia

 

Testimony 28

I have been following your Bible study class for about a year now. I must say I am impressed with how your ministry has grown. I took it upon myself to listen to all your lesson podcasts from the past and they have both enriched me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I have learnt a lot from this class. I have also noticed how the class has grown in spiritual strength. One of the things that benefited me is that now I am not afraid of God. I use to be, but now it has melted away. The second thing is that you helped me to have a real life relationship with God. Now He is my friend that was always there and I love having him with me all the time. Thirdly, because of this class, it inspired me to take over and lead a class. I have called it “Let Us Reason Together,” adapting your inquisitive style and creating a class of free thinkers.

T. Banda, Malawi, Africa

 

Testimony 29

Thank you for all of your work to correct misconceptions about God’s character. So many people that my husband and I have talked to seem to be against the natural law construct and view it as “errant” and “dangerous.” Having learned more about it through your blogs and lessons, I don’t really understand why they view it that way, except that it means they have to relearn theology they have known for their entire lives. But I’m so excited to relearn this. For the past few years I have been questioning how I could trust a God who punishes arbitrarily and is full of wrath for those who don’t obey His commands. That view made me afraid to “mess up” or “not be good enough,” even within my relationship with God. I really appreciated the point you bring out about God not wanting us to serve Him because we are afraid, but because we love Him.

Melissa H., IN, USA

 

Testimony 46

Over the past couple of years God has been expanding my view of Himself and His character. Along my approximately 40-year journey, I have often had questions, but was hesitant to voice these and step outside the traditionally accepted thinking, for fear of admitting that I may in fact be eternally lost. In the recesses of my thinking has been the thought – if one blindly accepts (which is widely regarded as “real faith”) and does not question, is this really ‘truth?’ I often find it challenging to grapple with very theological ‘speak,’ but Dr. Jennings has a real gift of explaining spiritual concepts with clear practical examples. The weekly discussions are growing my Christian experience and slowly changing my view of how to live as a child of God in today’s complex world. Finally the whole Old Testament sanctuary teaching moved in my mind from fantasy to reality!

Beverly S., South Africa

 

Testimony 47

I can’t even begin to thank you and your ministry enough for introducing me to the Truth about a loving and merciful God! I have my daughter and her in-laws to thank for sharing with me “The God-Shaped Brain” as well as your website. I listen to the Bible study class lessons on my daily walk. May God continue to bless your thirst-quenching ministry!

Liz H., Port Angeles, WA, USA