Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5 (ESV).
The word “meek” can easily be seen as something negative. People often think that being meek means allowing others to treat you badly, or being fearful and afraid to speak up.
Meekness and being fearful are opposites
Meekness and a quiet spirit belong together. Being meek must never be confused with being fearful or afraid to speak up. A fearful spirit is the exact opposite of a meek spirit! Quietness from meekness comes from trusting the Lord, but quietness from being shy and fearful comes from not trusting Him.
We should not think that a meek person is always quiet. He is quiet when he should be quiet - like when he is insulted or treated unfairly, when others get angry, when they just chatter about all kinds of things, when they fight for their own gain, etc. But he is not quiet when he should cry out to God for help both day and night, or when he is to raise his voice like a trumpet to tell God's people about their sins (Isaiah 58:1); or when he has to openly defend the truths of the gospel; or rescue the lamb out of the lion's mouth.
Godly nature has two sides. It is quiet when it should be quiet, and it can be loud like the sound of thunder when it should be. Sinful nature also has two sides. It is loud when it should be quiet, and it is quiet and fearful when it should cry out as loud as it can.
Being meek leads to salvation
“Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.” Numbers 12:3 (ESV). But when he saw the golden calf and the dancing, he threw the tablets of the law out of his hands and broke them (Exodus 32:19).
And Jesus, who tells us to learn meekness from Him, was so full of zeal that He overturned the tables of the money-changers and drove them out of the temple with a whip (John 2:13-17). We should not try to be quiet in these situations.
We read in James 1:21 that we should receive with meekness the words that are implanted in us. When the Word judges and corrects us, when it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow (Hebrews 4:12), when it crushes and humbles us, when it strips us bare – then it is very important to be quiet and meek and agree that the Word is right. Then we need to keep silent instead of answering back, defending ourselves and making excuses! Then we will be led further on the way of life and will be saved more and more, step by step.