Was I Meek?
Years ago after reading in Numbers 12:3 about Moses’ being the meekest man on the earth, I began to pray for meekness.
The next week I wrote an article for the magazine I published, and, as always, I gave it to others to edit and critique. The first one approved it and wrote “good” by one of the paragraphs. The second reader said, “I have serious problems with this one paragraph”—the exact paragraph which had been approved earlier. I could have deleted that paragraph, but it contained my major point. So when she began to state her reasons for disagreeing, I put up a wall. I refused to accept her remarks as valid.
We were at an impasse. Neither of us would give. I could have just ignored her suggestions, but they fell so close on the heels of my prayer for meekness, that I was afraid to.
Several days went by and I continued not to feel clear before God to use the article. Finally, just a few days before deadline of deciding what was to go on the page in the magazine, I thought, Maybe if I write out the details of this, I can find the solution to what I’m doing wrong. I have found that sometimes writing out an episode helps me to “speak the truth in my heart.” It gives the Lord time to point out my wrong attitude. So I wrote out the details of our disagreement.
“I didn’t accept her concerns,” I wrote on about line 15. “Is she right? What do you say about this, Lord?”
Suddenly as I wrote, I realized that to be meek means to have the walls down. It means to accept others and their ideas as friendly guests, cordially examining them, all the while listening for whatever the Holy Spirit may be saying. If I close the door to others’ ideas, I may be closing admittance to a truth God could give me no other way.
I went to Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary and read the definition of meekness. “An attitude of humility toward God and gentleness toward men, springing from a recognition that God is in control.” Humility toward God and gentleness toward men! Had I been gentle? Maybe I had’t been harsh; I had responded more with silence. But my response had been an unbending silence, not a gentle silence.
What a freeing concept! Since God was in control, I could afford to be humble before Him and gentle with others. God was going to be the One to decide about the article.
I went to the phone, called her, and tearfully confessed to her that I had had a wrong attitude. Would she forgive me?
“Yes, I forgive you, Aletha,” she replied.
Suddenly the walls were down. It didn’t matter to me now if we used the article or not. All that mattered was that my attitude was pleasing to God. I had tried to do my part of being humble before God and gentle with her so I knew God was in control. In the end, circumstances caused us to use the article. Using it, at this point, caused no hard feelings.
Father, because I know You are in control, I can be meek enough to entertain others’ suggestions even when I disagree.
But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace” (Ps. 37:11 ESV).
