II Timothy 2:25,“In MEEKNESS instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.”
Nobody will ever make any decision or move in a spiritually beneficially or profitable direction apart from God. He is the main influence toward permanent change, and we must seek His work in us and through us. We have a duty to be involved in the recovery of others, and God has the most important part, since He alone can perform an internal change in someone. The person in the snare also has an individual responsibility: to recover themselves. People are enchained to a number of different struggles or habits. Shopping, eating, and tongue snares are some of the most commonly used traps of Satan to render us ineffective in the cause of Christ.
One of the most effective approaches in helping someone recover from habitual enslavement is to instruct them from a position of personal meekness. Meekness is not weakness.Meekness is the yielding of one’s rights for the benefit of others and the glory of God.Weakness, on the other hand, is the yielding of one’s responsibilities. There is a vast difference between the two. It is much like defensive driving. You readily yield your rights to another in order to avoid discovering what the inside of an ambulance looks like. In the Christian life, we must willingly yield that which may be considered rightfully ours in order to avoid spiritual collision with others. To live with a proper view of yourself and a right estimate of your rights is“to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.”(Titus 3:2.)
A cartoon explains the tragedy of the absence of meekness in relationships. Two mules in a barn yard were straining against each other, each pulling in the direction of their food. Neither could get nourishment until the other yielded. “When no one yields, no one wins” was the caption over this picture. If you lack the spirit of meekness you will never be an effective teacher. Withoutthe implementation of meekness, people will never see past the stubborn, selfish “you” to catch a glimpse of the selfless, sinless, saving Christ. Are you allowing your rights to be violated willingly so that Christ can be seen through your life? Paul, in preparing to visit the church at Corinth, said“What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?”(I Corinthians 4:21)
Meekness is best demonstrated in adverse conditions.We lean towards our natural response in adversity to strike back and retaliate, but we exhibit meekness when we suffer wrong without getting revenge. According to Jerry Vines, meekness is “that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting.” Have you been wronged? Do you suffer for no apparent reason? Such adverse times present an unparalleled opportunity to show someone the meekness of Jesus Christ,“who when he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.”(I Peter 2:23.) Never was it more clear how much Jesus loved the world than when He willingly laid His rights aside, suffered wrong at the hand of others, and went wounded to a cross. People are drawn to Christ through the love we show them according to Jesus’ plan that“by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”(John 13:35.) But if we take that love a step further and reveal the meekness of Christ we will have authority to exhort them like the apostle Paul exhorted the church at Corinth.“Now I Paul myself beseech you by the MEEKNESS and gentleness of Christ…”(II Corinthians 10:1.) Do you have someone in mind that needs to be exhorted to change? Use the instructive tool of meekness.
Meekness is necessary tounderstand and benefit from God’s providential dealingsand unexplainable sovereignty in our lives. Unanswered questions about unpleasant circumstances can be endured if we will develop Biblical meekness. Joseph is a great example of someone who gained an understanding about God’s dealings in his life by demonstrating personal meekness. When he had the opportunity to take out revenge on his brothers, he refrained. Meekness will enable us to look at the mysterious events in our life and say like Joseph that “God meant it unto good.”(Genesis 50:20.) We must teach others confidence in the One who has the ability to work all things together for our good. This will draw people to a God who can turn every trial into a triumph, every sigh into a song, and every heartache into a happy ending.
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