That should be our first clue that to be meek is not to be a wimp. It is to be filled with the awesome power of the Holy Spirit; and to not be defined by earthly power. It is to know who you are, where you are coming from, and where you are going; as Jesus did. It is to be at home in your own skin and not to be afflicted with the itching envy of somebody else’s life. It is to be free enough inside that lowliness is as easy as power since you are not defined by what you or anybody else owns or does or is. To be meek, in short, is to be free. And to be free is find that the whole world is yours already, freely given by the Lord of heaven and earth—as St. Francis knew.
Beatitude ping!
You have a good definition of what the meek are-which is the opposite of what most people I know consider to be the meek. It is not being a doormat- but having the strength and understanding, and the faith to do/be what Christ teaches us to be. He gave us the example.
According to dictionary.com
Meek
–adjective, -er, -est.
1. — humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others.
2. — overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame.
3. — Obsolete. gentle; kind.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME meke, meoc < ON mjukr soft, mild, meek
—Synonyms
1. forbearing; yielding; unassuming; pacific, calm, soft. See gentle.
Given that Jesus, who attributed to Himself “meek,” yet also threw out the monychangers from the temple, overturning tables & driving them with a whip, IO think it is safe to reject definition #2. He was not OVERLY submissive/compliant/spiritless.
Given His reactions during the period between the Garden of Gethsemane and His Death #1 is certainly applicable. Yet, given incidents such as the Woman Caught in Adultery (where was the man, by the way, doesn’t that crime require TWO?), the Samaritan Woman at the Well, and Zacharias the Tax-collector definition #3 also fits.
There is also the working definition I heard one pastor give*: Power under control.
{*He used Superman/Clark Kent as an example of what he meant.}
“Meek” is probably one of, if not THE, most misunderstood words there are.
{”Love” is a good contender for that title though.}
To be meek requires one to overcome the ego. Many of Jesus’ teachings involved overcoming the ego.
Holding grudges rather than forgiveness, self-centeredness rather than helping others, wanting attention and to finish ahead of others rather than meekness, unwillingness to sacrifice material things, impatience, and angry outbursts....are all outcomes driven by an untamed ego.
Personally, my ego(flesh/spiritual life) is in one of the three following modes.
MODE one: My actions and emotions are fully controlled by my ego. Ego mode.
MODE two: I’ve gathered the willpower and energy to push myself step by step towards changing my ego driven patterns with a prayerful heart. The ego transition mode. Depending on how strong and fast I push myself this transition phase typically lasts between 5 to 14 days.
MODE three: A greatly tamed ego. By withholding the tongue from bursting out in a moment of anger, 4,5,6, or 7 times during the transition period of one or two weeks, the ego ends up losing most of it’s potency for mode three and the typical angry outburst are replaced by a typical calm reaction often followed by a strangely pleasant inner sensation that may be described as inner peace. Same applies in that two week transition period for the other wholehearted pattern changing of the ego regarding new behaviors of meekness, helping others, etc. One can also force themself to eat the broccoli they don’t like to eat without complaint as a sacrifice to God, or drive behind the slow guy instead of speeding around him in order to crack away at the ego in the name of God and spirituality. In mode three one may literally feel 20 pounds lighter, gain a higher capacity to feel joy, play somewhat better at sports, feel an inner peace at various times frequently...All things I’ve noticed for myself that may or may not be universal gifts that accompany the transition into living the patterns prescribed by Jesus for us.
In my opinion, this particular path towards inner peace involves:
1) often physically and verbally doing the opposite of what your ego would want of you.
2) repeatedly deciding in the mind to forgive the other person, rather than letting thoughts pertaining to that person inflict you repeatedly from within.
3) often deciding in the mind(different than physical) to do the opposite of what you want rather than allowing the mind to obsess over something the ego interprets as a power struggle between you and another person.
4) often praying during times of self-sacrifice and obedience.
5) In ones mind, deciding to offer a mental anguish, a physical pain, or unpleasant temptation that is excessively plaguing you at the moment, as a “sacrifice to God” with the decision at that moment possibly resulting in a meaningful reduction in the amount of unpleasantness felt.
6) not following into the trap of guilt that would push one off the new spiritual path and back onto the default ego path. Guilt can cause one to immediately quit doing the ways of the spirit for an unreasonable amount of time even though the path you were just on and pushed off by guilt had become easy and often pleasant. I know this principal quite well, quite well indeed.