NOTHING TO PROVE

"Blessed are the humble (meek), for they will inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5 (CSB)

We said that Meekness is strength under control. A meek person is one who totally trusts God. They commit their way to God. They are gentle, forgiving, humble and quiet. We even used the picture of a horse that is tamed. The worldly value that we have to resist is that of Power.  We are to seek the true meek attitude if we are to be Kingdom citizens.

So, how can we do this? We must yoke up with Christ. To be yoked together means that we are connected and working/moving in the same direction. Consider what Matthew shares in chapter 11 verses 28-30.

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

This is a special yoke for mis-matched animals. Who has the most power and strength – me or Jesus? Duh – that’s a no brainer.

A. W. Tozer in The Pursuit of God says, “Jesus calls us to His rest, and meekness is his method. The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort. The rest that Christ offers is the rest of meekness, the blessed relief which comes when we accept ourselves for what we are and cease to pretend. It will take some courage at first, but the needed grace will come as we learn that we are sharing in this new and easy yoke with the strong Son of God Himself.”

How do we get there? It begins with a person repenting of their sins, their rebellion against God. (Blessed are the poor in spirit). Then it requires a surrender of their life, a bending of their knees, to the Lord and His word. (Blessed are they who mourn.)

So, we develop this attitude by:

·      Knowing who we are.

·      Where we are going.

·      Who we belong to.

·      And that we have nothing to prove.

When I was in college in the early ’70s, there was a student who came in a week late. He was a Korean student. He was quiet, and so became the brunt of many jokes (knocking his books down, butting in line, etc.). He would quietly pick up his books, etc. It came the night of the freshmen talent show. He came on stage in what everyone thought was his pajamas. This triggered laughter. However, a friend of his held a chimney flue over his head, and this student with a flying leap across the stage shattered it with his bare foot. Silence. Retrospection. Wow, did I dump his books, etc? He was a Third-degree Black Belt Instructor in Judo. When I asked him why he let everybody pick on him, he smiled and simply said – “I know what I can do, I have nothing to prove.”

That was meekness.