By: Tom Cash
Preaching Minister, Church of Christ at West Unity
How are Christians to react when trouble comes their way? Jesus never intended His followers to helplessly surrender. Instead, He calls for us to respond with the true definition of meekness: horsepower under control.
What do I mean by that? I am not talking about the horsepower of a car engine under a hood. I am talking about the overwhelming ratio of strength between a horse and a human; strength that needs to be tamed; strength that needs to be controlled.
Every domesticated horse needs to learn who its master is, and then yield its strength to the master’s wishes. The word originated with the Greeks. Their war horses were “meeked” when they were trained to stay in battle rather than flee at the sound of loud cannons.
No work horse is going to win the Kentucky Derby. Likewise, no Kentucky Derby winner can pull a plow through rough ground all day long. But a horse’s skill and breeding will rise to the top when it surrenders to its master’s wishes. That’s meekness!
Meekness is a horizontal response to others. Human nature says we should repay evil for evil. It’s easy to get drawn into verbal sparring. It’s instinctive to strike back at those who strike us. Even if it doesn’t come from our own hand, we can find ourselves longing for justice to fall hard on our oppressors.
Understand this: longing for justice is not a bad thing. The Psalms are filled with calls for God’s justice. Even the souls of the martyrs in the book of Revelation cry out, “How long O Lord?” Yet the desire for justice must be tempered with the understanding that God’s justice will be handed down with God’s timing.
In Matthew 5:43-48, we are called to rise above human nature by loving our enemies. This is one of the marks of a “child of God” instead of a child of the world. While it’s usually hard to relate to a generic command to “love your enemies,” how about this: Love the religious militant who would destroy you because of your differing faith. Love the person who instigated having you fired. Love those who have so wronged you that your blood pressure rises when you simply hear their names.
Let’s rise above human nature by serving our enemies. Romans 12:14-21 tells us we need to go to them, meet their needs, and refuse to retaliate. On that note, right now, I want to pause. Think of someone you would rather not think about. Do you feel your blood pressure going up?
Now: Pray for them. Not that they would die, or that lightning would strike them. Pray that you can reconcile with them. And if they are not Christians, pray that God will use you to win them to Jesus. Can you do that? It’s hard, I know. But it is expected by the One we call our Lord.
Are we meek? Have we surrendered our strength to Him? Worldly tactics will always yield worldly results. If we want to change the world, we need to do things Jesus’ way. By doing so, we will discover it is very hard to hate someone we are praying for.
Not only is meekness a horizontal response to others, but it is also a vertical response to God. James 1:2-4 tells Christians that no matter the circumstances, “Consider it pure joy” when we face trouble for the sake of our Lord. Happiness is circumstantial, but joy is eternal. No matter the circumstance, God is worthy of our praise. Even when we lack understanding. And especially when we don’t feel like it.
We need to pray for those who are persecuted; we need to put feet on those prayers by doing what we can to help them. Let’s pray for our own resolve and boldness. Let’s pray that we may rise above human nature and respond well. Remember: worldly tactics always yield worldly results. But when Christians’ lives are ignited with praise, prayer, and love, the darkness of this world will be drawn to the true light of Jesus Christ.
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Tom Cash is the preaching minister at the Church of Christ at West Unity, Ohio. He leads Bible studies at the West Unity Seniors Center and serves on the board of the Millcreek-West Unity LifeWise Academy.