May 2025

How can I be happy when I’m not getting my way? “Blessed are the meek.” Matthew 5:5 Who wants to be considered meek? A meek tiger doesn’t get ahead in the jungle, and a meek person doesn’t seem to get ahead in this world. To be meek is not always to insist on your rights. To be meek is to let the other guy get his way while your own needs and desires are kept under wraps. “Meek” not only sounds like “weak,” but to most people, to be meek is to be weak. And to be that way never gets you ahead in school, in business, in relationships, right? Not so with followers of Jesus. He once equated happiness with being meek and, what’s more, he said that Christians actually will get ahead by putting others first. This is how he said it: “Blessed (happy) are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). You see, Jesus was talking to some very secure people when he said that. He was talking to those who had put their trust in him. They weren’t secure because they had great careers or lots of money. They were secure because they knew they had the most valuable thing anyone can ever have: a place in heaven. They trusted that Jesus would take them to heaven when they died and that made all the difference in the way they lived. Secure in God’s greatest treasure, they didn’t have to live the rat race of trying to secure their financial fortune by running over somebody else’s rights. Jesus’ followers know this life is not all there is. Jesus’ followers know they can be meek—they don’t have to get their way all the time because Jesus has set them up for an eternity of happiness. Guess what happens when you live this way? People notice. People respect you for the way you live. People honor you as someone who puts the needs of others before your own. In that way you “get ahead” without even trying. You “inherit the earth” even if your meek lifestyle doesn’t translate into big bucks. Jesus blesses us when we walk his way in this world. Being meek isn’t being weak. It’s being strong. Strong in your trust in the Lord Jesus. Strong in your hope of heaven. Strong in your belief that your loving God will take care of you in this life and the next. Strong enough not to always insist on your way. Be meek. Be happy.