Clothed with Meekness

by Rev. Mark Reece


As we continue the sermon series at Piney Grove Baptist Church called “As God’s Chosen Ones,” we turn our attention to the fourth virtue offered in Colossians 3:12.  In the King James Version, that virtue is referred to as meekness and in the more contemporary translations the word gentleness is used.  When we think of being gentle, we think of exercising little force and aggression.

The best definition that I’ve found for meekness is “strength or power under control.”  I believe this gets closer to the Biblical definition of the word in question.  This definition invites us to reflect on so many levels.  We are very powerful individuals.  I think of the strengths that each of us have.  I think of the massive amount of power that we all possess.  We are the wealthiest people people in the world.  Some are able to control their pocket books while others are not.  If one can read, he or she possesses a gift that many around the world do not.  Some use their education to serve others while others use their higher learning to serve themselves.  According to James 3:1-6, the tongue is a great power that we have and must be tamed.  There are few things that are more destructive and powerful than an untamed tongue.

Meekness rhymes with weakness, and sometimes when we think of those who are meek we think of those who are weak.  However, meek people are anything but weak.  They’re powerful yet able to keep their power under control.  There have been many figures who have been given power and it went to their head.  Power has caused educators, politicians, preachers and CEO’s to put aside eternal and divine law.  But, let’s not be quick to pass off the responsibility of self-assessment.  We’ve all be given power at some level.  In our families, husbands and wives have power over one another and their children.  In the workplace, consider your role and you’ll discover that you likely have power over someone else in some way.  In the church, nearly every person has been given a role with some power.  When that power is untamed, we become people that God didn’t call us to be.

This week I ask you to consider the power that you have - from your wallet to your tongue - and consider how tamed your power is. How are you using your power?

In that great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”  That’s counter-cultural.  But that’s good news.  Let us reflect on what it means to clothe ourselves with meekness.  I pray God’s blessing on each of you in the week to come.

Mark Reece is the pastor of Piney Grove Baptist Church in Mount Airy, NC. This article originally appeared in their church newsletter, The Grove.