Zephaniah 3

Verse 11-12: "I will remove from you your arrogant boasters... But I will leave within you the meek and humble."

I was watching the Celebrity Apprentice a couple weeks and one of the contestants called another contestant meek. It didn't go over well, the contestant apologized and said it was a poor choice of words.

Why do we think that being called meek is a criticism when it is a quality that God admires?

I looked up the definition for the word meek:(Merriam-Webster.com)
1. enduring injury with patience and without resentment.
2. deficient in spirit or courage.
3. not violent or strong.

For the purpose of this blog I prefer definition #1. I think that is the definition that rings true to the biblical use of the word. However, I think when the word is used in America today definition #2 would be more appropriate.

Sometimes things don't go our way and stresses pile up. It's easy to lose patience and begin resenting everything that is causing us stress. It's easy to resent God, if you want a reason you don't have to look very far.

I have a friend that has been battling a very serious form of cancer for 18 months. There were many times when things got very scary and real, times when there were more questions than answers. It would have been easy to lose hope, easy to lose faith, easy to become resentful. Now, it seems that she is well on the road to recovery. I would be lying if I didn't think her recovery had something to with her attitude.

It takes strength to to be patient and to not become resentful.

It takes strength to be meek.