Reviewing a lesson in Meekness from Revive Our Hearts
“Do we have a meek spirit?”—here’s something that will help us to see that.
(1) as it relates to those who are under us—this may be if we are parents or teachers or employers and we have people that are reporting to us or people we are leading, people who are under our authority—if we’re not meek, we will tend to be quick to correct them and quick to find fault.
We become more aware of other people’s shortcomings and their deficiencies than we are of the evidences of grace in their lives. Then what happens is that the people that are under us feel that they can never please us. Some of you, your children feel that way.
If we are not meek, we will be quick to correct and quick to find fault with those who are over us.
We become more aware of other people’s shortcomings and their deficiencies than we are of the evidences of grace in their lives. Then what happens is that the people that are under us feel that they can never please us. Some of you, your children feel that way.
If we are not meek, we will be quick to correct and quick to find fault with those who are over us.
(2) a lack of meekness shows itself when we get easily vexed toward those who are over us, and we start to vent toward authorities, toward our leaders. This is what Miriam and Aaron did with Moses. They were vexed. They vented. They expressed quickly their hostility, their disagreement with Moses.
So when we’re in circumstances where we’re under authority, a lack of meekness will make us quick to vent, quick to be vexed, rather than receiving the circumstance and the situation.
So when we’re in circumstances where we’re under authority, a lack of meekness will make us quick to vent, quick to be vexed, rather than receiving the circumstance and the situation.
(3) And then generally with our peers, a lack of meekness makes us contentious.
It has to be our way, and we’re impatient if things don’t go our way. [Mathew Henry] says, “We must have our own saying, right or wrong, and everything our own way.” That makes us contentious and hard to live with.
There’s a great illustration of this in Genesis chapter 13 in the life of Abraham. Do you remember how Abraham went up (he was called Abram at the time) from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had and Lot, his nephew, with him into the Negeb? There was tension. There was strife between these two groups of men. So what does Abram do? Verse 8: Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me." (vv. 1–8) … He takes the role of the peacemaker. He takes the position of the meek one. He says, “Let there be no strife between you and me and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen, we are brothers.”
Isn’t that what we ought to be saying in our homes? in our churches? Why are we splitting up? Why are we having this strife? Why are we having these disagreements? “We are brothers. I’m not going to let there be strife.” And then he puts his money where his mouth is. "Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” (v. 9) What a spirit of humility. What a spirit of meekness. … But who got the blessing? Abram got the promises of God, the land of God, the line of God bringing the Messiah through him.
It has to be our way, and we’re impatient if things don’t go our way. [Mathew Henry] says, “We must have our own saying, right or wrong, and everything our own way.” That makes us contentious and hard to live with.
There’s a great illustration of this in Genesis chapter 13 in the life of Abraham. Do you remember how Abraham went up (he was called Abram at the time) from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had and Lot, his nephew, with him into the Negeb? There was tension. There was strife between these two groups of men. So what does Abram do? Verse 8: Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me." (vv. 1–8) … He takes the role of the peacemaker. He takes the position of the meek one. He says, “Let there be no strife between you and me and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen, we are brothers.”
Isn’t that what we ought to be saying in our homes? in our churches? Why are we splitting up? Why are we having this strife? Why are we having these disagreements? “We are brothers. I’m not going to let there be strife.” And then he puts his money where his mouth is. "Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” (v. 9) What a spirit of humility. What a spirit of meekness. … But who got the blessing? Abram got the promises of God, the land of God, the line of God bringing the Messiah through him.
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Studying on meekness has been challenging and these three questions/points really fall into the nitty gritty details of my life. And I cry out, “create in me a pure heart, a humble meek heart, that responds with gentle peacemaking boldness”
This was only one lesson out of many and of course we need the full council of scripture to best understand meekness, but this lesson is a good one for measuring my/our level of meekness.
Series
The Beauty of Meekness
Nancy shares the importance of having a meek spirit toward God and others and tells us how we can cultivate it in our own lives.
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