Q3. Blessed Are the Meek

[Pastor Bob]

Q3. (Matthew 5:5) How does this sort of gentleness contrast with the world's ideal? How is humility important to Christlikeness?

The world puts emphasis on power, position, authority, assertiveness, etc. as indications of leadership. The Scribes and Pharisees had bought into that model. So did the disciples, unfortunately. In general, the crowd that followed Jesus were also looking for a political, military leader to get rid of the Romans. Jesus set a different example. "I am among you as one who serves," Jesus said.(Lk. 22)He also said, "I have not come to be served, but to serve." (Matt. 20) He illustrated that by washing the disciples' feet, the job of a slave. Our king came to lay down his life for us as a sacrifice for sin. He set the example for us.

Bob

[Melvin]

Q3:

There is an old 'saw' that states: "If the meek are going to inherit the earth, what about us Tigers?"

That is how the world looks at this - the powerful, the affluent, the influential and those of great importance are expected to reap the greatest of everything. Jesus confounded his listeners with a statement which was beyond their grasp until they took time to think about it. Meek is not a 'nice' thing from a worldly standpoint. However, beyond the scope of our years here, it is an eternal blessing and it comes not to the powerful but to those who are lowly and meek as Christ.

I've come to look upon Jesus as a 'Gentle Giant'. He has all the power He could possibly use at his beck and call yet, He lives the example He wants us to follow. He's more akin to Billy Graham than John Wayne.

This is particularly difficult for a Texan like me. I have to work at it - a lot.

[Highohfaith]

Q3. (Matthew 5:5) How does this sort of gentleness contrast with the world's ideal? How is humility important to Christlikeness?

http://www.joyfulhea...p?showtopic=731

The world is 'hell bent' on success , and power at any cost. Some societies are more materialistic than others, but one common 'earthly' personality trait among all humans is the need to feel powerful,whether it be through affluence, or by oppression of others, the need to have their OWN will is strong. The need for this type of power is what has caused wars and conflicts since the beginning of time. Power, affluence, and pride are not signs of meekness.Christ was meek, yet He was very POWERFUL, so powerful that His message has changed the hearts and lives of thousands of generations.,so powerful that His message has changed the WORLD and continues to reach, and save others everyday. But His power was Spiritual power. His richness did not come from the riches of this world, nor did His power come from anything of this world. It was the power of faith, the power of the Creator of all things, the POWER and RICHNESS of God in all His Glory and Fullness! Worldly power is a diversion from the truth found in Jesus Christ,

Being considerate, gentle, and humbled are qualities which Jesus himself possessed. He cared about people and it showed in the way He treated them. In order to reflect His LOVE we must do the same thing.

[Raph]

Q3. (Matthew 5:5)

How does this sort of gentleness contrast with the world's ideal?

This sort of gentleness contrast with the world's ideal in that, while the mentioned gentleness is base on love for others; the world's ideal is based on self-centreness.

How is humility important to Christlikeness?

Humility is important to Christlikeness in that, he base of humility is love; it is only love to others that can make a Christian humble himself/herself. Such love can only be found in Jesus Christ.

[tgandy]

We live in a world where the most aggressive wins.  But not all the time.  Jesus was saying it is okay to get ahead just watch the way you do it.  You are not a weakling if you are compassionate, gentle and humble.  Jesus himself had all of those qualities. A lot of the people who want to reach the top claw and trample those in their way.  It will be the meek and not the aggressive and the proud who will inherit ..Humility is the personal quality of being free from arrogance and pride .  Jesus was like this.  He humbled himself to wash the feet of his disciples.  Jesus served.. 

[tgandy]

A lot of people in this world are content with their material lives.  To walk with Jesus one must be constantly striving for more.  To be hungry and thirsty for the very Word of God.  This puts us at odds with this life because we know we will never have that craving satisfied until we are in Heaven.  We will be filled to the brim with all the answers to questions we never knew we had.  Life will be a peace unlike anything we could possibly obtain here on earth.  The promise Jesus gave us is "we will be filled."

[DebLam3teach]

This type of gentleness is not self-absorbed with self-promotion or position.  The world, by contrast, is preoccupied climbing the ladder of success.  Humility is important for the Christian because we see ourselves as God sees us; our sins and our needs.  Pride keeps us away from God; humility draws us close to Him.  When we walk in humility and gentleness, we let God be God; we don't become our own god.

[Eager Bver]

The world's ideal of gentleness is allowing people to walk over you, being a wimp.  

 

Humility is important to Christ-likeness because Jesus was humble and cared about people.  Plus, you will inherit the earth and God's blessings.

[webster52]

How does this sort of gentleness contrast with the world's ideal? We are taught from our youth about competition; be the best, the brightest, the strongest, etc. “Continuous Improvement”, “Value Added”, “Six Sigma” and numerous other programs permeate the manufacturing environment. We are judged and graded from preschool through all academia. Evaluations are performed all through our work lives. All Stars, MVP’s, Olympians, etc. pervade the athletic arenas. That is our secular world ideology.  Gentleness, humility, compassion, lifting up another person, understanding, sacrificing self (time, money, listening) just to name a few are all but forgotten in this fast paced technological savvy world we live in.

 

How is humility important to Christlikeness? Jesus was humble when He walked this earth. He had infinite power, yet used all meekness. I frequently use the example in John 18 when asked about humility or meekness. John 18:³ Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.  ⁴ Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”  ⁵ They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.   ⁶ Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

 

John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible says: ”there were at least five hundred men in this garrison (from the Antonia Fortress); a large number indeed, to take an unarmed person; and yet, as if this was not sufficient, it is added, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees; servants that belong to each of these, and who seem to be a considerable number also; for these are said to be "a great multitude"; Matthew 26:47.” So we are looking at 500+ tough, war hardened soldiers getting knocked to the ground by Jesus’ answer “I am He”; humble, yes, meek yes, weak … absolutely unequivocally No !!! We, as Christians, have Jesus living in our hearts; we can follow His complete example here on earth. It is not to be weak to emulate our Saviour’s teaching and principles; it is the wise thing to do.

[JoanG]

Today people are taught that they need to be number one. they need to be the best to succeed. They need to have the best of everything. They need to be better than everyone else. They never seem to be satisfied with what they already have.

 

However, Jesus taught that we need to trust in God to supply all of our needs not all of our wants.

 

We need to care for our fellow man. To help others become the best that they can be. We need to put others before ourselves when they are in need.

 

We need to trust in God when we are called to go out of our comfort zone and to serve others. We need to realize that all of our power comes from God not ourselves.

[Old Jerry]

This kind of gentleness contrasts the world idea of being in charge and pulling ourselves up with our boot straps. They don’t like the idea that we need to depend on somebody else to get us through this world and into the next. We need to humble so that we can learn from others and learn from their mistakes. If we do learn then we will be able to get closer to God.

[Guitar Jim]

Q3. (Matthew 5:5) How does this sort of gentleness contrast with the world's ideal?

 

One day, in a parent-teacher meeting, my daughter's teacher . . I think she was in the fourth grade . . told me that she wasn't assertive enough. She was letting others enter the room ahead of her and letting people in front of her in queues. etc. In other words she was behaving in a meek and humble way towards others. I explained that I'd taught her manners from a very young age and that I was proud of her for being that way, thinking of others ahead of herself. That was how I was raised as well. Her teacher told me that I hadn't done her any favours, because to get ahead in the world she'd have to adopt a dog-eat-dog attitude. How sad?

 

 

 

How is humility important to Christlikeness? 

 

"Take my yoke and learn from Me because I am humble and gentle in spirit" . . That's how important humility is. If and when God raises us up to a position of importance, the worst thing we can do is feel self-important. And the hardest thing to do is to remain humble and keep on giving the credit to God for his grace in allowing us to prosper.

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[Karen11]

On 12/19/2007 at 9:40 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q3. (Matthew 5:5) How does this sort of gentleness contrast with the world's ideal? How is humility important to Christlikeness?

The world ideal is to lie, steal, cheat and destroy people,"my way or the highway".

Humility is Jesus's way, to turn the other cheek, to leave it at God's feet.

[Douglas58]

Whether there is a world ideal I don't know. I venture there will be all kinds of ideals based on many facets of life.

Gentleness and humility, however, applies to ourselves, not to our contrasting ourselves with an abstract world that we consider different. We can not judge that. What we can do is discard our own opinions, our own judgements, our own ways of bolstering our importance of validating ourselves. Meekness and humility means divesting ourselves of our opinions and opening our hearts to universal love, beauty and compassion. On this path we can start to emulate the path of Christ.

By doing so, we are not patsys. We can have a stronger sense of self that does not rely on outer things or our opinions and beliefs about outer things. We can be more like Matthew  5:37 "Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one."

[Karen11]

On 12/19/2007 at 9:40 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q3. (Matthew 5:5) How does this sort of gentleness contrast with the world's ideal? How is humility important to Christlikeness?

The world's ideal is being a push over walk all over, but that is not it at all, the way I see it is to be non confrontational, not to let the world get the best of you.

It's important because we are to be like Jesus, and to have humility is following Jesus.

[Evie]

Sometimes it seems there is no gentleness in the world. It seems like it is a first come first get kind of world. However, it is becoming my experience that when I am gentle and kind others are gentle and kind. The world is still hard but it is amazing what can happen when you follow the instructions given by Jesus.

[MosesSole]

On 12/19/2007 at 9:40 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q3. (Matthew 5:5) How does this sort of gentleness contrast with the world's ideal? In today's society, gentleness is valued only in women, but not in men. But even then, society expects women to be tough in order to keep up with the fast current. The trick is in finding a balance and it is possible to be meek but carry oneself with dignity. If you get spit on, you don't spit back. But you can make an effort to right the wrong by asking law enforcement to hold the attacker accountable. Because in order to love and honor your neighbors, you first have to know how to honor yourself.

How is humility important to Christlikeness?  You want to put yourself in service to your neighbors and Christ did for his followers.

 

[Irmela]

The world's ideal is to strive for promotion, to strive for more, come what may. There is no satisfaction. The "more" is so often gotten by "standing" on others as it were. Pushing onward nevermind who is trodden on. Christ's ideal is being gentle (pleasantly cam, kind, patient) and long- suffering, not at all bombastic. He served.

 

Humility is very important to Christlikeness, in that people are sooner drawn to calmness and kindness than bombastic reactions. Christ portrayed strength and power in His being humble.

[Lisa Wolf]

Q3. (Matthew 5:5) How does this sort of gentleness contrast with the world's ideal? How is humility important to Christlikeness? 

The sort of gentleness described by Jesus in the Beatitude as 'meek' is in direct contrast to anything the world offers.  Nowhere does the world offer a course on gentleness. Other than some bedding and baby items, it is a rare object that is even soft, and words the world offers are not kind and gentle.  Philippians 2:5-8 speaks loudest to me of Jesus' humility, "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!"