Tag Archives: meekness

“But the fruit of the Spirit is…meekness…” (Galatians 5:22-23).

God is more concerned about what we are than what we can do. He is actively at work in our lives and His purpose is to change us from the inside out. In Galatians chapter five He lists the fruit that He is working to produce in each one of our lives.

One of those important qualities on that list is meekness. What an important quality meekness is. You can’t get along in a marriage, a family, or a church without it! It is an indispensable quality that provides for peace and stability in our relationships.

Meekness involves the yielding of our personal rights and expectations to the Lord. Again, this is not a natural quality. Our natural reaction is to fight for our rights – and we often do – producing destructive anger and a trail of broken relationships.

We wouldn’t get angry unless our own personal “rights” were being threatened. But “…the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). Our anger never accomplishes anything good. It is always carnal. It is always destructive.

The antidote to anger is meekness.

It begins with teaching your children how to share their toys or candy with their siblings. But it leads all the way up to the total dedication and yielding of every area of your life to God’s control.

Meekness is a manifestation of spiritual maturity.

An Indian once compared a Godly missionary to a mango tree. In order to get the fruit the Indians would throw stones and clubs at the tree. At the end of the season, the tree stood battered and scared, but the next season it would produce even more fruit.

That’s meekness: bearing fruit in a hostile world!

I expect that most of us today will have an opportunity to learn and demonstrate the quality of meekness. Don’t just focus on that present irritation or conflict. Understand the bigger picture of what God is doing by using those same conflicts to develop in you the meekness of Jesus Christ.

Morris Hull
Home Life Ministries

See our related post on teaching meekness to younger children at www.characterjournal.com/peacemaker-of-the-day/

Please consider sharing this posting on Facebook if you have found it to be helpful. “Like” the Home Life Ministries Facebook page to receive these daily updates in your Facebook News Feed.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who… became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5,8).

We normally think of Christ’s death as the event which took place on the cross. But there are many other significant ways in which Christ died every single day while He was on earth which need to be understood. Christ died to the right to make His Own decisions.

When Christ was on earth, He made no decisions on His own but did only that which was directed by His Heavenly Father. Jesus said, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). His continual attitude was “…not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). When we have that same attitude, it is then possible for God to accomplish His will through our lives.

If we have the attitude that says, “I will do this no matter what anyone else says or thinks,” then we are not following the example of Christ but of Satan. Isaiah 14 describes the fall of Satan and it reveals his attitude of pride and rebellion (v.v.12-14). Five times Satan declares his independence and asserts, “I will…” The Lord Jesus says, “Father, not My will, but Thine be done.”

If we want to live for God, if we want to bring Him glory, then it is so important that we allow Him to make the decisions in our lives. Whose authority are you submitted to? Have you ever yielded your rights to God? Have you ever died to the right to make your own decisions?

Dead people are no longer are in control. They do not get their feelings hurt. They have no opinion of their own. They do not get offended.

It is in dying – not in doing – that we bear fruit for the Kingdom of God.

Morris Hull
Home Life Ministries

Please consider sharing this posting on Facebook if you have found it to be helpful. “Like” the Home Life Ministries Facebook page to receive these daily updates in your Facebook News Feed.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who…made himself of no reputation” (Philippians 2:5-7).

We normally think of Christ’s death as the event which took place on the cross. But there are many other significant ways in which Christ died every single day while He was on earth which need to be understood. Christ died to His right to a good reputation

In heaven, Christ is continually worshiped. Day and night He is praised for Who He is and for what He has done. Revelation chapter 4 tells us that the cherubim “rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, but when He came to earth to save us from our sins, He “made Himself of no reputation.”

He was born into poverty – when Mary presented the baby Jesus at Jerusalem as her firstborn, she offered a sacrifice of two young pigeons (Luke 2:24) rather than a lamb. This was a provision for the poor (Leviticus 12:8).

He was born under the suspicion of illegitimacy. In Mark 6:3 Jesus is referred to as “the carpenter, the son of Mary…” – by calling Jesus the “son of Mary,” they recognized that He was not the son of Joseph.

He was born into a nation that was despised and hated. His home town had such a bad reputation that when Nathaniel heard where Jesus was from, he said, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46).

The ultimate damaging of His reputation came when He was nailed to a cross for crimes He didn’t commit.

Christ yielded His right to a good reputation and because of that He has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 5:13); and God has now “given Him a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9).

God wants each one of us to yield to Him all the rights to our reputation. He wants us to be more concerned about what people think of Christ than what people think of us.

Morris Hull
Home Life Ministries

Please consider sharing this posting on Facebook if you have found it to be helpful. “Like” the Home Life Ministries Facebook page to receive these daily updates in your Facebook News Feed.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:5-6).

We normally think of Christ’s death as the event which took place on the cross. But there are many other significant ways in which Christ died every single day while He was on earth which need to be understood.

With our finite minds we cannot even begin to fathom the glory and riches that Christ left behind to come to this sin-cursed world. Yet Christ was willing to leave all the majesty of heaven to redeem us from sin.

Verse 6 states an amazing fact: He did not consider His equality with God as something selfishly to be held on to. Jesus didn’t think of Himself – He thought of others. This is “the mind of Christ” – an unselfish attitude that says, “I will gladly lay aside my privileges and rights and will pay whatever price is necessary for the benefit of others.”

Jesus died to self every single day. Paul said, “…I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). It is in dying – not in doing – that we bear fruit for the Kingdom of God.

Selfishness causes a person to focus excessively on themselves. “My feelings,” “My opinions,” and “My wants” take precedence over everything else.

Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24). Inside each grain of wheat there is life; but on the outside, preventing that life from bearing fruit, is a hard shell. As long as that shell remains unbroken, the grain of wheat will never be able to sprout and grow. But as the grain is placed in the ground, that outer shell begins to die and break, and the wheat begins to grow and bear fruit.

The application is clear. Everyone who has recognized his great need of salvation and has accepted Jesus Christ alone as his Savior has the life of God within him (1 John 5:12). But among this group of people who possess the life of God there can be found two different conditions: those whose life is confined and restricted because they remain unbroken; and those who have died to self and the life of Christ has been released.

The teaching of Scripture is clear: it is absolutely vital that we die to self. If we are to be a blessing to others, if we are to bear fruit, if we are to forgive… then it is essential that we die to self.

Imagine how this same attitude could transform your home or church. Death to self is the key to being a spirit-filled, fruit-bearing Christian

Morris Hull
Home Life Ministries

Please consider sharing this posting on Facebook if you have found it to be helpful. “Like” the Home Life Ministries Facebook page to receive these daily updates in your Facebook News Feed.

“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another” (Romans 12:10).

What does it mean to prefer one another?

Does it simply mean to like one person better than another person? Well, in a sense it does. The Greek word means “to go before and show the way, to go before and lead.” And if it’s your goal to have peace and harmony in your home then someone is going to have to lead and take the initiative if that conflict is going to get resolved.

Think about it, if husband and wife just sit across from each other like two stubborn mules, nothing is ever going to get resolved.

At the heart of this principle is a character quality that is absolutely essential if you are going to have harmony in your home. It’s the character quality of meekness.

One of the greatest marks of spiritual maturity is a person’s willingness to set aside his own rights in order to accommodate the wishes of others. The mark of maturity and spiritual strength is not getting into a fight; it is staying out of one. We should never back down or compromise on Truth; but if it’s just something personal, be willing and prepared to give it up!

And if you can teach your children this principle, you will be strengthening their future marriage and relationships. You will be helping to ensure they have harmony in their home and you will be protecting their future marriage from the tragedy of divorce.

Mom and Dad, if someone is sitting in your favorite chair, don’t get angry, just give in and go sit somewhere else.

Brothers and sisters, if someone takes something belonging to you, or if someone is fighting over who can have the biggest piece of dessert, just be willing to give in and let them have it.

Look for ways to avoid conflicts. Don’t allow yourself to be drawn into one. It takes a person who understands the high value of relationships to give in, rather than to demand their rights. The person that gives in may be thought of as weaker, but in reality he is the stronger.

No doubt, there will be opportunities to put this into practice in your home today. Welcome these opportunities and embrace them as occasions to learn and grow in Christian character.

Morris Hull
Home Life Ministries

Please consider sharing this posting on Facebook if you have found it to be helpful. “Like” the Home Life Ministries Facebook page to receive these daily updates in your Facebook News Feed.

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Godly character does not come naturally to your children – it needs to be taught! You don’t need to teach your children how to steal, lie, cheat or have a temper tantrum; but you do need to teach them meekness, humility, gentleness, kindness, deference, truthfulness, obedience, and forgiveness. These are character qualities that need to be taught. They’re certainly not being taught in the schools. They need to be taught in the home.

I wanted to share with you a little exercise which we enjoyed when our children were younger. It helped teach the Christ-like qualities of meekness and humility, and helped prevent some of the squabbling that takes place between siblings.

Every once and a while, we had a special competition during our morning devotional time as a family – it was called “Peacemaker of the Day.” I would announce to the children that Mom and I were going to be on the lookout for those who demonstrated the characteristics of a peacemaker. A special reward was to be given to the one who…

• gladly and willingly shared his toys
• yielded his rights rather than fighting for them
• praised and encouraged others (rather than being mean and critical)
• took the initiative in serving (without having to be asked)
• obeyed immediately and sweetly (not having to be asked a second time and with a good attitude)
• showed honor and respect (no back talk or attitude)
• demonstrated manners (saying “Thank you” at the dinner table)

Carefully explain each of the characteristics above to your children and let them know what is expected of them. The next morning, have them nominate their siblings by sharing how they saw each other demonstrate Godly character. Mom and Dad make the final decision on who is awarded the coveted prize.

Make the reward big – at least in their eyes. You’ll be amazed at how the younger children will respond to this challenge.

Morris Hull
Home Life Ministries

Please consider sharing this posting on Facebook if you have found it to be helpful. “Like” the Home Life Ministries Facebook page to receive these daily updates in your Facebook News Feed.

“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

When Jesus spoke this beatitude, He was quoting directly from the Old Testament (Psalm 37:11). Meekness has always been a characteristic of the Godly. It’s the only quality that Jesus ever ascribed to Himself – “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

So what is meekness? The Greeks used the word to refer to the taming of a wild horse. The animal hadn’t lost its strength, but all of the power of that animal had been brought under control. To be meek is to be under the controlling power of the Holy Spirit. It involves our submission to God’s authority and it involves the yielding of our rights. It is linked with what the Bible refers to as being filled with the Holy Spirit.

If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour then you have all of the Holy Spirit that you’re ever going to get. The Holy Spirit is a person. You can’t just have a bit of Him. Either you have the Spirit of God or you don’t. Paul says in Romans 8:9, “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.”

The filling of the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with getting more of the Holy Spirit but it has everything to do with the Holy Spirit getting more of you.

The Holy Spirit wants to fill and control every area in our lives; but He does not force Himself upon us. He wants us to yield to Him the right to every single area of our lives until they are under His control and Lordship. This is the way of blessing and success.

The meeker we become the less upset and angry we will be when we don’t get our own way. Meekness is the antidote to anger.

Philippians 2:7 says that Jesus “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant.” And because He was willing to yield His rights, God has exalted Him and given Him a name above every name. If you want to be exalted in the eyes of your family, don’t fight for your rights. Don’t demand their respect – earn it! If Jesus yielded His rights and became a servant then how much more must we.

If you invest in teaching your children this Christlike quality of meekness, you will be investing in the success of their future marriage and relationships. And the best way to teach it is to model it! Show them what meekness is like by demonstrating what a Godly life looks like.

Morris Hull
Home Life Ministries

Please consider sharing this posting on Facebook if you have found it to be helpful. “Like” the Home Life Ministries Facebook page to receive these daily updates in your Facebook News Feed.