GENTLENESS – PART 2

Yeshua:

There is also the profound example of Yeshua Himself who proclaimed in Matthew 11:28-30: -- Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. When Yeshua refers to Himself as gentle, it is the same word translated [Meek] in -- Matthew 5:5. Now let us think about this for just a moment: You remember when Yeshua saw the merchants in the Temple, He was angry. They were making a mockery of the place of worship and Yeshua drove them out with force. Or consider how Yeshua denounced the religious leaders for their hypocrisy; He was very angry with them and let them know it. Yet Yeshua could say with complete honesty: I am gentle and humble in heart. Yeshua was angry at the right time and for the right reasons. Near the end of Yeshua' life when He was beaten, when He was ridiculed, spat upon and nailed to the cross, He was Meek and compliant. Do you think He acted that way out of weakness? No, He acted that way because He had His strength under control.

2 – Involves Integration:

A mother was concerned with her oldest son's use of profanity. She was counselled by some friends to slap the boy each time he cursed. The next morning as her sons came to the breakfast table, she asked them what they wanted to eat. The oldest son replied: I want some *! £$%^&* Corn Flakes. The mother slapped him as hard as she could. As the oldest boy sat dazed on the floor, she turned to her younger son and asked what he wanted for breakfast. The young boy replied: Well, one thing is for sure, I do not want any Corn Flakes. The mother did not quite have a grasp on this gentleness concept, did she? How we can integrate gentleness into our lives:

A —Be Gentle With Those Whose Faith is Weak:
Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. -- Romans 14:1. We have an opportunity to demonstrate gentleness when we can readily accept people who are not at the same level of spiritual maturity that we are. In other words, people do not have to live up to my standards in order for me to love them. The one thing that angered Yeshua the most was self-righteous religious people who spent all their time judging others.

B – Disagree Agreeably:
The real test of a believer’s maturity is how you handle disagreeable people, people who irritate you, people who like to contradict you and people who like to get in arguments and quarrel with you. You have three alternatives: You can retreat in fear; you can attack in anger or you can respond in love. Meekness is not compromising your convictions. It is not being a doormat for everyone else, giving in and always letting the other person have their way. It is being able to respond with words of peace, even when the person opposed to you is in your face and angry. A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. -- Proverbs 15:1.

C – React With Grace:
It is a fact of life that you are going to be hurt by other people. The issue here is how do you respond to it? What is your normal reaction when people hurt you intentionally? Retaliate? Get Even? Seek Revenge? But to respond with forgiveness, even when they have not asked for it, that is gentleness and grace. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. -- Romans 12:21. Booker T. Washington, the great black scientist, faced prejudice all his life. He said: I will never allow another man to control or ruin my life by making me hate him. When you say: You make me so mad! you are admitting that the other person is controlling your emotions. The other person has the power to control you. The moment you start retaliating, the moment you start seeking revenge, you give up control of your life. That is a position of weakness; Yeshua said the meek person knows how to let it go.

3 – Involves Inheritance:

In case you missed it, there is a promise here: For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon Adonai, they shall inherit the earth. -- Psalms 37:9. I believe there are two ways we can understand this promise; both of them are correct:

A – We Are To Inherit The Earth Now:
The meek have the greatest capacity to appreciate the blessings that YHVH has given to us. Now, if you are controlled by your own anger or by vindictiveness, you cannot really enjoy YHVH's Creation. But if you are YHVH-Controlled, you may have less in the way of possessions than others in this world, but YHVH enables you to enjoy it more. You inherit the earth in the sense that you really possess it more than the other person. To inherit the earth is to grow more and more alive in the presence of YHVH in the world. And that awareness allows you to prosper in the ways that really count.

B – We Are To Inherit The Earth For Eternity:
Nevertheless we, according to His Promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. -- 2 Peter 3:13. The meek will have their ultimate reward in heaven in the land beyond. YHVH wants us to look toward eternity and we allow that picture of our eternal home to help us to focus and to control our actions here. So, what is it like to live a life of meekness, gentleness and humility? It is living a life of total peace and surrender to Yeshua Moshiach. It is living with the understanding that YHVH is in control. It is demonstrating to the world that I have only one master, Adonai Yeshua Moshiach. It is a life that involves insight; integration; and inheritance.