So there has been something that has been driving me batty for a bit now, and before you ask, it is not the same thing that God has been addressing in the previous post.
My primary spoken and written language is english. And I have to tell you, sometimes it drives me crazy - the english language that is. It is so "point blank" sometimes I find. Like a cousin of mine who was living in Japan sent me a Christmas card one year that had a greeting in Japanese. They spent quite a few lines attempting to convey the meaning and emotion of a few simple characters. But I am not writing to rant about the very language I use. This is about "meaning". That is, the meaning of words.
I have found that many of us use terms all the time that really, we do not even know the meaning of. Even in Christian circles it happens. Take grace, mercy and love for example. There are lots of people who can use those in a sentence correctly or can give an example, but to give a definition is another story. On that note, do yourself a favor and do a quick word study on those three terms.
But it is not those words which have been on my mind for so long now. The words which have plagued me are "weak" and "meek". Going by Webster's, weak is "not able to resist external force or withstand attack" (among other things). Meek on the other hand is "enduring injury with patience and without resentment."
To make it a bit clearer for you, an example.
If a child (say 10-ish) was locked alone in a room with an adult whose intention was to cause them harm, if they could not get away, they would have little choice but to take whatever was coming their way. Same ill intended adult locked in a room with another adult of similar size, is a different story. The one whom they attack has a choice. They may fight back, or take a punch and walk away, or cover up and take it, or run like mad. But they have CHOICE. And choice is the difference maker.
The meek will inherit the earth.
When they came to the garden so long ago to take our Lord away, one drew their weapon and struck one of those who had come. What was Jesus' response? From Matthew 26 : "“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?"
See that? Choice! He could have called and had an immensely superior force there in an instance. For that matter, He could have called fire from heaven or things far more numerous than we could come up with. But He did not.
Weak has no choice. Meek does. And it is that choice that makes one meek.
Ok, so now we have an idea that there is a difference between the terms and what that difference is. Now what?
Try this one - Psalm 82:3 "Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed."
How did we end up in this place? Not all, but any is too many really. This place where we see innocents and the weak being oppressed, attacked and crushed and we stand there and do NOTHING. Not even opening our mouths. And we dare to use "turn the other cheek" as an excuse for that. You know what? If someone slaps you, then you have a choice and we are told that choice should be to "turn the other cheek" rather than react in kind. If someone slaps someone helpless, for no reason other than they exist, right in front of us - our place is to defend them. If we choose to turn the other cheek after we step in the gap for them, then that is our choice to make. I cannot recall anyplace in scripture where we are told to stand back and do nothing while the weak and helpless are being crushed.
Be meek. Do not return evil with evil. Do not become consumed by vengeance or filled with resentment and judgments that are not yours to make. Choose. Make the choice, follow His lead. But remember, that is YOU and your choices. You cannot force that choice on someone who cannot defend themselves against evil. You are strong in the Lord remember. More than a conqueror. An heir with Christ. A full blown representative of our Father in heaven. Be meek...but defend the weak.
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