Meekness is a temperance of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down because it’s not occupied with itself in any way. It neither grumbles nor complains because it’s satisfied in any circumstance. I relate meekness to moderation and link it to Paul’s contentment whether abased or abounding.
Ask me, and I’d say I live moderately. My house is small, my possessions few. But the reason people live moderately determines meekness. Many who live moderately do so out of necessity or to protect against scarcity. People tend to create a controlled environment to safeguard against future lack. Fear is often impelling us to manage our affairs moderately. If we had more, we’d spend more, merely increasing the size of our controlled environment. Hence, we may look moderate but not possess a true spirit of meekness.
True moderation is born of the spirit with unselfish motives. It spends freely but without compulsion, gives generously but without coercion. Meekness sees abundance and humbly receives. To prosper is to graciously partake of the generous nature of God without the fear of greed. I once read a motto to counter balance greed which said: Do not take more than you can truly love.
We have possessions we don’t have time to truly love or even the heart to truly love it with. What might we give away if we lived by that motto? What might we live without? I’m convinced that in the absence of excess we will experience the joy of simplicity. As our hearts expand our lives will be filled with people, not things.
When I feel overwhelmed or discontent I clean a closet and give away what I don’t need. There’s a connection. The desire to downsize possessions is linked to the ache for freedom. The sale of the house represents freedom for me. I want to be debt-free; I want to pursue a dream of simple living, doing what I love, and living from faith-filled moments of trusting God.
Your blog on July 13th really spoke volumes of free truth to me. I love the way you connected meekness, true meekness, to moderation.
It gave further insight that some do indeed live their lives as what would seem to be moderate, but that what always determines the eternal from the temporal is motivation. If a need to control or preserve our “status” is behind our efforts to live within this “moderation,” if that is the driving force of our efforts, then we are truly not one with the true freedom of meekness. I see meekness to be entirely selfless. As you were saying, true meekness is not focused on self – self-promotion or self-preservation.
Once we aim only to promote the life of Christ in others we will find that it is a given that we are promoting who we were meant to be on and in this earth as our Father’s holy vessels.
By your writings I easily see that there is always a counterfeit present for which the ego self can make his hiding place; thus, once again presenting us with the everlasting option of which tree we will eat from. Will we eat from the Tree of Good and Evil (hiding behind the cosmetics of independence and knowledge?) or will we eat from the Tree of Life?
“O WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM! WHO SHALL DELIVER ME FROM THE BODY OF THIS DEATH? I THANK GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD…”
Visiting for the first time. Nice job, Susan! I just posted an entry in my blog yesterday about this very topic! Email me at darlene.lester@gmail.com if you’d like to read what I wrote. Seems like we were on the same wavelength!
Yeah, Doreen, the counterfeit IS the hiding place of the ego self and it IS ever-present. Thanks for taking the time to visit, thanks for your encouragement, and thanks for being such a person of insight.
Darlene, it means a lot to me that you would visit my site and find some affinity with it. I look forward to reading your blog and have emailed you to that affect. Thanks!