"Blessed
are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth"
To understand this beatitude let’s
start by recognizing that it’s like the others in style (or form). If you read over these beatitudes, you’ll see
that they don’t seem to be true. Poor,
hungry, merciful and persecuted is not the life most would choose. To put it another way, we want the second half of each beatitude, not the first half. We choose this life because we believe Jesus when he tells us that a
person isn't worse off for these things, but actually better off (blessed). And we
believe Jesus because we want to be a part of the kingdom, we want to be
comforted, satisfied, and to receive mercy so badly. You see, it’s the ending of each beatitude
that explains the beginning. In this
case, it’s better to be gentle, because the gentle people will inherit the
earth.
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| The world: "Believe in yourself" |
Gentleness isn't what the world thinks
wins the day, and that’s how you can come to understand this and challenge
yourself to obey. We think the world is
inherited by the ambitious, the hard-working, driven people. We think the earth is inherited by the
clever, the smart, the ruthless, and the strong. If you don’t think that now, you haven’t been
out much. Look at this section from
Jeremiah:
But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; and I didn't know that they had devised plots against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.” Jeremiah 11:19
You should take a moment and read Jeremiah
11.9-23.
There is a plot against Jeremiah (a preacher), and God told Jeremiah
they were plotting against him.
What do
you do when someone is plotting against you at work, church, within your family
or circle of friends? Seriously … take a
moment and think about what you tend to do when you hear others are plotting against
you.
As for me, I tend to make my own
strategy and plan to ‘fix’ things, or sometimes get revenge (to my shame). But not Jeremiah – he allowed himself to be
harmed. He became “gentle as a lamb led to slaughter.” Of course this
reminds us of Jesus, too. Jesus was the
Lamb of God, led to slaughter, and “like a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53.7 & Acts 8.32).
Can you believe Jesus would let himself
get walked on like that? It just doesn't make sense. If you let yourself be
harmed at work, or church, or in a marriage or any relationship … and you just
take it with gentleness, how in the world do you expect to inherit
something? You can’t rise to the top of
corporate America by being gentle. You
can’t be president, or rich, or powerful … you can’t “inherit the earth.” For that matter, how do gentle and humble people
even get a job? How do you get past the interview,
try-out or audition if you’re humble and gentle and put others first? Shoot, you can’t even keep your job as a
preacher (believe me) in a church or ministry … because the politics are such
that you will be removed by people willing to lie, cheat, gossip, abuse, and do
whatever it takes to remove you if you block their agenda (or what they
arrogantly believe is God’s agenda).
Furthermore we’re doubly cursed, because unlike Jesus, we make
mistakes. One mistake in our ambitious,
greedy, vengeful world and you’re dead.
You simply cannot afford to be gentle.
As soon as people perceive you to be weak, they’ll destroy you just as
happened to Jesus and Jeremiah. No, if you
want to inherit the world, you’re better off heeding Machiavelli, Ben Franklin or
James Carville than Jesus.
No, common sense tells us that 'gentleness' and 'submission' gains nothing, wins nothing, achieves nothing. Still, if you're one of those gullible fools who want to follow Jesus instead of your own common sense, read on....
Jesus and Jeremiah are not unique. A great way to learn about gentleness is to
learn through stories. Two great
examples of this are from the lives of Moses and David. Get with a friend and study them.
- First, the rebellion against Moses in Numbers 16-17. But pay special attention to Moses’ “gentle” response in Numbers 16:1-5.
- Second story is one of many episodes like this from the life of David, who never sought power or held on to it, except as granted by God: 1 Samuel 24.1-13.
This is the gentleness Jesus praises:
It’s not weakness or fear … it’s
deliberate. It’s the strongest man in
human history allowing himself to be crucified! It’s a great leader like Moses falling down on his face or the already anointed
warrior-king feeling guilty about damaging the clothes of the cursed king. This gentleness is the ultimate act of faith, relying
solely on God. It’s obedience - only to
God, and God alone – no matter the consequences; as Jesus submitted to
death. In fact, it’s the ultimate act of
faith and obedience, that we all accept when we agree to “take
up your cross daily and follow” Jesus.
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| We BELIEVE He did ... so now we trust Him, not ourselves |
“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected
by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on
the third day.” … “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must: [1] deny himself, and [2] take up his cross daily and [3] follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it.
For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world,
and loses or forfeits himself?”
Luke
9:22-25
Read this again, and you’ll see that
Jesus knows we are seeking to “gain the world,” or at least a part of it, but
we’re exchanging our souls – our eternal life – for these temporary
things. That’s why we must be willing to
die daily … it is our willingness to die that makes us strong and eternal, and
it makes us different than people in the world.
Of course for most so-called Christians, this just isn't so, is it?
We can only be gentle when we’re strong
– so strong we don’t have to surrender,
we choose to! Like Shadrach, Meshach
& Abednego, we refuse to bow to our own egos, desires, fears and other gods
of this world, even if it costs us our lives … because we know our Lord will
deliver us now or later.
Once again: this is not about being weak
or mild! This isn't like a mother cuddling
her child or being nice to an old person. This is about allowing others to take advantage
of you! The gentleness of feeding the hungry
or consoling the weak or sick … that is coming in the “hunger and thirst for righteousness”
beatitude. This one is about being submissive.
This submission, even to evil, and even
when you suspect it may cost everything – is the submission of strength by choice.
It’s the sacrifice of strength for the weak,
the faithful for the pitiful, it’s surrendering to the bully – not out of fear,
but because you love the weak, pitiful bullies of this world who are themselves
enslaved by their fears. It’s about submitting
to Pharaoh until God leads you to freedom, and not raising up your own revolt.
One chapter in the bible explains this
principle (I think) better than any other.
And it’s cool, because it’s written to a church about church politics,
and how to be “gentle” within that context.
If you take time to read this, study it, and truly understand it … to
talk about it with your brothers and sisters, you can understand it. Once you understand it, you should feel very,
very challenged. Obeying this chapter is
one of the most difficult things God asks you to do. But as we learned before we began the
beatitudes, it’s all about faith. If you
trust yourself and your own instincts, you will never be able to obey Jesus’ command to be gentle. It can only be done by faith in God.
"If there’s any
encouragement in Christ,
If there’s any
consolation of love,
If there’s any fellowship
of the Spirit,
If any affection and
compassion…
…make my joy complete by:
- Being of the same mind,
- Maintaining the same love,
- United in spirit,
- Intent on one purpose
Do nothing from
selfishness or empty conceit, but:
With humility of mind regard
one another as more important than yourselves;
Don’t look out for your
own personal interests, but for the interests of others.
Have this attitude in
yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, although he existed
in the form of God, didn't regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but
emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the
likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason
also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every
name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in
heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So then, my beloved, just
as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my
absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is
at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Do all things without
grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and
innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse
generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word
of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did
not run in vain nor toil in vain. Philippians
2:1-16
Are you gentle? Will you be of the same mind, maintain the
same love, be united in spirit and purpose with your brothers and sisters, or
will you keep yourself and your interests ahead of others? That question will be answered not by your
words, but by your actions – your third column.
If you think things depend on you, then you cannot afford to be
gentle. Fear, self-will, and vengeance
will push you to stand up for your rights, to fight back, to never allow
yourself to be wronged.
But – if it’s really true that “God is
at work in you,” as Paul saw … then you won’t trust yourself, depend on
yourself or fear for yourself, because you are entrusting yourself to God’s
care rather than your own self-care.
Taste and see that the Lord is good
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