You never know who you might meet on any given days who will make an unforgettable impression on you. Even more surprising is, where you meet them. I met the most gentle, meekest, little old lady at a bus stop at the “State Fair” of Texas years ago when I did carshow demos. After a long day on the Saturday Texas plays OU, the traffic was, as expected, especially heavy. So, I was glad I decided the day before, to take the city bus home instead of my car. It was at that bus stop—not at the front gate, but a few blocks south to avoid the crowd--I met Sister Zenobia, a custodian at the fair, who had the same idea—get home after a long day.
“How was your day,” I asked? She replied with a voice like cotton candy, feathery-light and sweet, that matched her silver-white, gray-blue hair, “It was good”, she said. “I even had time to read my bible. You a believer, sonny? I love the Lord; been good to me. Love to read His word, praise his name, pray without ceasing because He been mighty good to me. Did I tell you I loves the Lord? What about you?” She never took a break for a breath so I could to answer. She went on about her church, the First Greater New Mount Tabernacle Church of Jesus Christ the Christian Son of God Church where she was a deaconess, and usher when she wasn’t singing lead alto in the choir. I interrupted, “Oh, here comes our bus.”, I interrupted. She replied, “Thank ya. Thank ya. Thank ya Jesus. Ain’t God good.” As she stepped to the curb’s edge, the bus sped by us in a cloud of diesel smoke; the swoosh nearly knocked her to the ground. She erupted, “I’ll be a (beep), (beeping), (beep). Don’t that make you want to kick you own self in (beep)”.
The last I saw of her, she was storming into the night with bible under her arm, pushing a rickety folding shopping cart, spewing out scriptureniceties seldom heard at the First Greater New Mount Tabernacle Church of Jesus Christ the Christian Son of God Church. So much for meekness. When I hear, “The meek shall inherit the earth”, I wonder if that applies to Sister Zenobia considering her blast of anger. Most associate meekness and its synonym—gentleness—with weakness. Everybody knows “only the strong survive.” If anyone gets the earth it will be the strong and fiery. Right? Well, it depends on how you look at meekness. There’s more power to it. Without a proper view of gentleness meekness, you might miss your inheritance. Who is the gentle person who will inherit the earth? Will it be the gentle, yet angry lady at the bus stop lady? Gentleness is one of the nine qualities of the Fruit of the Spirit we are called to receive it, live it and bless others with it. But you can’t bless others with it if you don’t understand gentleness as God sees it? In Mark 10 and 11, we see that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to gentleness. Godly meekness is not weakness, but rather God's strength under management. Gentleness has everything to do with what you do with anger. First, we’ll see that the gentle person who inherits the earth is angry at the right time. Second, the gentle person who inherits the earth is never angry at the wrong time, but is sensitive when the situation calls for it. Meek doesn’t mean weaek. It’s strength under management. A gentle person who inherits the earth is angry at the right time. It’s power under control. Jesus, the most powerful person on earth, was angry at the right time. We see this power cloaked in gentleness in the cleansing of the temple. When he rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday he was described as “your king… is coming, gentle and mounted on a donkey. But when gentle Jesus found people had turned His Father’s house of prayer into a mall of merchandizing, it was time for superman to show the “S” on his chest. Money changers were cheating the people as they came to buy the small sacrifice animalss for the Passover. People came from all over. They did not necessarily have the right currency. So, money changers were charging the people more to make the exchange. It was outright theft, and it required the right response—anger managed with gentleness. We see that in Mark 11:15-17.
And He entered the temple and began to cast out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16 and He would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations '? But you have made it a robbers' den." Mark 11:15-17
Some things you see that re not right, you have to get angry about it. Jesus was angry enough to say, “Not in my this house.” He did not unleash His full fury, but managed His strenght with gentleness so that His anger would be appropriate for the occasion. When you see people gun down by military-style weapons on the streets of your “this-could-never-happen-in-my-town” town during a 4th of July celebration, will you get angry enough to say: “Not in my house.” We have to do something about assault weapons. When you see an unarmed man not from your “this-could-never-happen-in-my-town” town— fleeing police for a traffic violation, shot in the back 60 times, only to be taken to the hospital dead on arrival in hand cuffs, will you get angry enough for the appropriate response and say: “Not in their house, my house, or any of God’s children’s house”? We have to do something about police violence. Gentleness does the body good because it is God’s strength, through you, managed by God’s the Spirit of God, so that you get angry at the right time to say to things that are not right, “Not in God’s house to God’s people.” Be gentle. , yet angry at the right thing at the right time. Meek don’t mean weak. Meek means strength under management. Those who have it, they will inherit and manage a new heaven and new earth.
Second, thea gentle person who inherits the earth never gets angry at the wrong time at the wrong thing, but is sensitive when the occasion calls for it. Jesus, the most powerful man on earth was also the most sensitive. He knew when a gentle touch was better than a heavy hand. We see that gentle touch with the least in society, yet who are one of the best examples of faith—children. In Mark 10:13-16, Jesus provides an example of never being angry at the wrong time. People were bringing him children to bless. In contrast to Jesus’s gentleness, the disciples were angry with these people for taking up Jesus’s time with kids. But Jesus’s response was to be gentle to the kids and angry with His disciples. Look at Mark 10:14-16:
But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all." 16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands upon them. Mark 10:14-16
Who are the “such as these”? Tthose who come with the simple faith of a child. They believed out of relationship, not religion. It was enough just to be in the arms of Jesus, believing this is the “blessed” place to be. They didn’t have to speak in tongues. They didn’t have to be slain in the Spirit. They didn’t have to be masters of Greek and Hebrew. They didn’t have to preach like Jakes, teach like Swindoll, or singsing like Amy Grant. They just wanted to be wanted, to have a little talk with Jesus.
Gentleness means being sensitive to know when someone is in need of someone to talk to like Angela Montez was sensitive like that. Perhaps you know her story. Back in 2009, the Indianapolis store clerk was held up at gun point by 23-year-old Gregory Smith. The down and out, unemployed father and veteran was desperate. But Angela Montez, though fearful of her life, was sensitive to where Smith was in life. She talked to him,"Nothing could be so bad that you're willing to take someone's life or give up your life in prison. "She asked him, “Where is your mother?' He said, “I don't know at this time.” She asked, “Where is your father? And he said, 'I've never met my father."
The more she talked to him, the more she helped him find his faith. He eventually laid down his gun, surrendered his bullets in exchange for faith in a Strength greater than a gun. Strength under management was at work that day.
Gentleness does the body good Gentleness because it is God’s strength through you managed by the Spirit of God, so that you never get angry at the wrong time, but are sensitive to say to someone in need, “Let’s talk rather than “Let’s shoot”. Imagine if shooter in Highland Park and the shooting victim in Akron had heard more often, these gentle words, “Let’s talk. Meek don’t mean weak. Meek means strength under management. Those who have it will inherit and manage a new heaven and new earth.
CONCLUSION:
The gentle person who inherits the earth knows when to ggets et angry at the right things at the right time, at the right thinge, who says to injustice: “Not in God’s house, with God’s people. Meekness is strength managed by gentleness. Second, the gentle person never gets angry at the wrong time, at the wrong thing, but is sensitive to the situation. They choose “Let’s talk" over “Let’s fight”.
The woman at the the bus stop, talked a good game of meekness, but in the end, did she miss the bus scheduled for Inheritance Avenue? It depends on how she—and you and I— manage our strength and control our anger. Meek don’t mean weak. It means God’s strength in your hands managed by His Fruit of the Spirit. Those of us who do, we will inherit the earth. Don’t miss the bus.
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