Meek People are Strong; Bullies are Weak

Published: 15th of October, 2023 by Patrick Carpen

The dictionary defines the word “meek” as “quiet, gentle, submissive; not willing to argue or express opinions in a forceful way.” The opposite of meek is “bullish.” We all know what bullies do: they try to bully others, make others feel inferior, and take what doesn’t belong to them.

Bullies sometimes rely on superior strength or size to overpower or “bully” others. They tend to pick on people whom they perceive to be weaker than them. Bullies are cowards who suck up to authority or people whom they perceive to be stronger than them.

A meek person is less likely to engage in a fight over disputed property. They are more likely to walk away and say, “you can have it.” In Sunday School, many years ago, our teacher explained the concept of meekness by saying that, if there is only one apple and two persons want it, the meek person would say, “you can have it.” Meek people understand the power of letting go. While the meek have a tendency to let things go, the Bible tells us that “the meek shall inherit the earth.” This may seem ironic, but we must call to mind the scripture, “the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men.” God’s ways are higher than ours as far as the heavens are higher than the earth, and the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men.

Yesterday, I met Pastor John from Canada. We had a little chat, and today, Sunday, 15th of October, 2023, I had lunch with him and Pastor Ramesh in St. Ignatius Village, Region 9, Guyana. As we approached the lunch table, the food was already laid out, but the chairs had not arrived as yet. There was just one office chair near to the table. We started to dish out our food as we waited for the chairs to arrive. After praying and blessing the food, we started to eat. Pastor John remained standing while I instinctively dropped on the chair. What a comfort! I was happy that Pastor John, who was in his 60s and was over 20 years older than me, didn’t jump into the chair first. Maybe he wasn’t thinking about it, but Pastor John, consciously or subconsciously, exercised the quality of meekness. This quality of meekness reflected both mental and physical strength. In his early 60s, Pastor John appeared to be in top physical and mental shape. If Pastor John was a weaker man, he might have grabbed the chair and say, “Patrick, let me sit down…I’m older than you!” Pastor John acted like he didn’t even see the chair.

Strong people have the power of letting go of things and giving up things for the comfort of others. Strong people walk away from arguments and fights knowing that God has greater things for them around the corner. I remember a story about 6 years ago when I walked away from an apartment using the power of meekness. God opened up greater doors for me and did many miraculous things in my life. I trusted God on His promise and He delivered as usual. Jesus never fails.

In our world today, ignoring the Master’s words, people are deceived into thinking that meekness is a sign of weakness. They fight and kill each other over things which serve little purpose and do little good in this temporary existence. Today, for example, two groups of people are fighting for a tiny piece of land. Each side, thinking as the natural man, thinks that the strong should win the fight. By fighting, they bring death, destruction and suffering to themselves and millions of others. What if these people had understood the commandment and advice of Jesus? Then they would have walked away and God would have opened up greater doors for them. Each one would say, “hey, you can have it.” There would be no death, no killing, no robberies.

Bullies think they are strong, but they are weak. They seek to take what does not belong to them because they have no faith in God to create new things for them. The meek walk away in perfect faith that God will give them greater things, and they find it. Bullies enslave others, but strong, meek people work hard and give generously. Weak bullies steal, covet, and rob others because they do not have faith in the power of God to provide for them and do miracles in their lives.

The meek live by the words of Jesus. They have faith in the unseen. They walk in faith and keep receiving from God, as it is written, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” When Jesus was on earth, He didn’t just instruct us to be meek, but He also demonstrated by His own life the power of meekness, “greater love hath not a man than to lay down His life for his friend.”

I’m not telling you to lay down your life for anyone unless God explicitly instructs you to do so. That was Jesus’ purpose and what God sent Him to do. But you too can demonstrate the power of meekness by letting the light of God shine through you. Quit fighting over material things in disputes that could hurt or harm others. Give some things up for God through the power of meekness. And remember Jesus’ promise when He said, “the meek shall inherit the earth.”