Meekness Not Weakness

[Whyme]

10 minutes ago, Alive said:

Yes--but there is a forum rule regarding how we speak about rulers and it is based on scripture.

Disrespectful or threatening comments toward governmental institutions and/or world leaders will not be tolerated. (1 Pet. 2:13-17)

 

How is what i said disrespectful if its true? I didnt call him any names but just stated a fact that i can prove. Whats the point of having news and political forums if you cant post any real news? What i talk about might seem harsh but its not my words that are harsh but the words of these leaders that i mentioned which are harsh. But if i cant post the truth whats the point? 

Edited April 26, 2021 by Whyme

[Whyme]

Paul was meek, but when addressing people he rebuked he wasn't always meek about it.

[Alive]

Long ago I heard meekness described as "the means between weakness and strength".

Jesus personified this--He had the strength of Almighty God and yet He was the Lamb. That strength was utilized to appear weak or rather manifested as so. We can see this in men who have been given authority and lay it down for the sake of others.

[Willa]

Meekness should be our attitude toward God.  It was a trait of Jesus and is the fruit of power under control.  There is no good English translation of the Greek word so it causes confusion in our minds.  It is an attitude of submission to God and not resisting His will.  It accepts things that are occurring to us as possibly being God's will to created fruit in us or to chastise us, but always for our good.  Possibly we should see the things happening in our nation in the same way.  I agree that meekness is not weakness.  Meekness permits anger toward evil, such as those harming or threatening to harm one's family. 

 

G4236   (Word Study Dictionary). Meekness

πραότης

praótēs; gen. praótētos, fem. noun from práos (G4235), meek. Meekness, mildness, forbearance (1Co 4:21; 2Co 10:1; Gal 5:23; Gal 6:1; Eph 4:2; Col 3:12; 1Ti 6:11; 2Ti 2:25; Tit 3:2; Sept.: Psa 45:6). Primarily it does not denote outward expression of feeling, but an inward grace of the soul, calmness toward God in particular. It is the acceptance of God's dealings with us considering them as good in that they enhance the closeness of our relationship with Him. However, praótēsencompasses expressing wrath toward the sin of man as demonstrated by the Lord Jesus (who indeed was called meek but expressed His anger toward those who were chiding Him because He had done good on the Sabbath day [Mar 3:5]). This meekness does not blame God for the persecutions and evil doings of men. It is not the result of weakness, and in the third Beatitude it expresses not the passivity of the second Beatitude, but the activity of the blessedness that exists in one's heart from being actively angry at evil. 

 

VINE:

1. prautes, or praotes, an earlier form, (G4240) denotes "meekness." In its use in Scripture, in which it has a fuller, deeper significance than in nonscriptural Greek writings, it consists not in a person's "outward behavior only; nor yet in his relations to his fellow-men; as little in his mere natural disposition. Rather it is an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting; it is closely linked with the word tapeinophrosune [humility], and follows directly upon it, Eph 4:2; Col 3:12; cf. the adjectives in the Sept. of Zep 3:12, "meek and lowly";...it is only the humble heart which is also the meek, and which, as such, does not fight against God and more or less struggle and contend with Him., also such in the face of men, even of evil men, out of a sense that these, with the insults and injuries which they may inflict, are permitted and employed by Him for the chastening and purifying of His elect" (Trench, Syn. Sec.xlii). In Gal 5:23 it is associated with enkrateia, "self-control."

The meaning of prautes "is not readily expressed in English, for the terms meekness, mildness, commonly used, suggest weakness and pusillanimity to a greater or less extent, whereas prautes does nothing of the kind. Nevertheless, it is difficult to find a rendering less open to objection than 'meekness'; 'gentleness' has been suggested, but as prautes describes a condition of mind and heart, and as 'gentleness' is appropriate rather to actions, this word is no better than that used in both English Versions. It must be clearly understood, therefore, that the meekness manifested by the Lord and commended to the believer is the fruit of power. The common assumption is that when a man is meek it is because he cannot help himself; but the Lord was 'meek' because he had the infinite resources of God at His command. Described negatively, meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all.

"In 2Co 10:1 the apostle appeals to the 'meekness...of Christ.' Christians are charged to show 'all meekness toward all men,' Tit 3:2, for meekness becomes 'God's elect,' Col 3:12. To this virtue the 'man of God' is urged; he is to 'follow after meekness' for his own sake, 1Ti 6:11 (the best texts have No. 2 here however), and in his service, and more especially in his dealings with the 'ignorant and erring,' he is to exhibit 'a spirit of meekness,' 1Co 4:21, and Gal 6:1; even 'they that oppose themselves' are to be corrected in meekness, 2Ti 2:25. James exhorts his 'beloved brethren' to 'receive with meekness the implanted word,' Jas 1:21. Peter enjoins 'meekness' in setting forth the grounds of the Christian hope, 3:15."*

* From Notes on Galatians, by Hogg and Vine pp. 294

2. praupathia, "a meek disposition, meekness" (praus, "meek," pascho, "to suffer"), is found in the best texts in 1Ti 6:11.

[missmuffet]

Meekness is not weakness. It is the opposite. It is strength under control. Meekness is a willing submission to God. 

[Figure of eighty]

On 2/4/2021 at 5:10 PM, Jedi4Yahweh said:

@R. Hartono

Would you allow an evil person to rape or murder someone you love when you have the power to stop them?  Only a evil selfish coward would allow this.  We are called to protect those who are oppressed and weaker than ourselves.  As a father or mother it is your job to protect your family and loved ones. Certainly no body wishes to be in a situation where they must use deadly force, but if someone broke into my home and was attempting to murder and/or rape my family  and it was going to end either with my family or the evil person dying then I would have no problem sending that evil person to the grave.

I agree with this and also the OP. I feel both take alot of courage to perfom. I personally am not sure where the line is drawn between meekness and self defense. 

[BeyondET]

20 minutes ago, Figure of eighty said:

I agree with this and also the OP. I feel both take alot of courage to perfom. I personally am not sure where the line is drawn between meekness and self defense. 

Yea that is a good question though Jesus didn’t quite say stop don’t hurt him but just stop just saying. He could of been meaning not loose one because the soldiers probably would have kill him.

John 18:11“Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said to Peter. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?”

Edited May 4, 2021 by BeyondET

[BeyondET]

That might be because of the intention of Peter to save someone from dying, like if a person had to kill another because their family was about to be captured and killed, shall not kill won’t be a issue. Like the ear placed back on nothing happened. All souls go back to the Lord lot a ears of corn and weeds.

Edited May 4, 2021 by BeyondET

[BeyondET]

On 1/30/2021 at 7:40 PM, Jedi4Yahweh said:

Meekness in the worlds eyes is weakness, but in the eyes of God it is power and strength.   Meekness is defined by the world as allowing people to run over you and use you as a doormat.  Y'shua said you are blessed when you are persecuted and spitefully used and that we are to love our enemies, pray for them, and if they hit you on the right cheek to turn and give him the other cheek as well.  (Mat 5.1-12, Mat 5.39-48)

True meekness is the humility to restrain your anger/temper even in adversity.  Its natural to lash out and retaliate in anger when someone does you wrong and spitefully uses you.  When Y'shua was being beaten, slapped, spit-on, and falsely accused he did nothing to defend himself from them.  The bible says he was like a sheep lead to the slaughter and opened not his mouth (Isa 53.7).  Y'shua said his kingdom is not of this world or he would fight (Jn 18.36).  The scriptures also call us to follow his example and also declares us as sheep for slaughter (Rom 8.36).  We must recognize that we do not belong to this world and that we belong to a different and higher Kingdom. 

True meekness comes from God.  Its the ability to restrain your anger and trust God to deliver you from your enemies.  Its the ability to forgive and pray for them.  We are not called to take up arms and fight in a worldly manner.  Y'shua nor his apostles taught us to stockpile ammo and weapons to fight our enemies in a bloody combat.  He has called us to follow his example to take up our cross and willingly lay down our lives for the Kingdom of God and if any man will not take up his cross and lay down his life, he will lose it. (Mat 5.44, Mat 10.38-39)

It baffles me when I see so many Christians frightened (and rightly so) about their government and rushing out to buy weapons and ammo as to prepare for a battle with state governments.  The bible teaches us that we are to submit to government authority's according to the flesh and to obey them as long as it does not violate God's commandments and that we are to pray for all those in authority (Rom 13.1-7,  1 Pet 2.13-14).  Yes, there are times when you must obey God rather than government.  When government issues orders that are directly against God's word we are to called to disobey those orders and obey God rather than government.  One example was when King Nebuchadnezzar issued an order that you could not pray to any God but that you must bow down and pray to his statue.  Daniel obeyed God instead and continued to pray to God.  As one of Nebuchadnezzar's top advisors he risked not only his position but his life.  This lead to Daniel being arrested and thrown in the the Lion's den which we know God delivered him and gave him victory over his enemies because Daniel was faithful to God unto death and God rewarded him as governor of Babylon second to Nebuchadnezzar. (Act 5.29, Dan 3, Rev 2.10)

Rebelling against government in general just because you don't like who is in charge and because they do not fit your political preference does not give you a right to take arms and fight them or you may find your self fighting against God who establishes ALL those in authority (Dan 2.21, 4.17, Rom 13.1).  Sometimes God places evil kings in charge to punish people for their rebellion as God did with Israel (Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome).  Believe me, I am no fan of the leftist socialist government dictators but I will still pray for and submit to them if they are in charge as long as they do not directly violate God's word, but when the time comes when they say I can not speak in his Name...I will disobey.  When they say I can not assemble with other believers...I will disobey.  When they say I must inject myself and my family with poison for the greater good...I will disobey.  When they say you must abandon your faith and submit to government...I will disobey.

With all that said, I do believe people have a right to defend themselves from evil people.  I believe a father or mother has the right and responsibility to protect their family from intruders, murders, and rapist even with deadly force.  I do believe in the 2nd amendment that gives us the right to defend ourselves from evil people, but at the same time we are to do our best to be submissive to government's authority as long as they are not directly opposing God's commandments.

Please read Psalms 37 of how we are to act in when evil people prosper over us.

But there is that unknown part like in Germany 1930’s once in full power things can change over night. I can’t even imagine a world if no one stood up to the Adolf National Socialist world order plan complete horror more than likely. Not saying your against that I know just saying it’s a fine line in politics governments when to push back or be meek about it.

China with its relearning camps hmm, they have a goal of being number one. have they learned from history how to do it subtly then boom, what if all of a sudden they control the world the peaceful Buddha rises again and all convert to Buddha or else. To many on earth that could be some kind of crazy action with a ever going population busting out the seams it’s more humane to put people to sleep. if the world doesn’t level off the 220,000 a day growth it won’t be long danger zone, world in turbo charge, have a sword never know what’s lurking around corner.

Edited May 4, 2021 by BeyondET

[Waggles]

Did Spartacus win in the end? No he and thousands of his rebel followers were crucified outside of Rome. Slavery and cruelty continued. 

Did the Christian martyrs of Rome and elsewhere win? Yes through them the truth and value of the gospel was made manifest, and the church grew in numbers. 

Edited May 4, 2021 by Waggles