Verse of the Day 10/8

Verse of the Day 10/8

Matthew 5:5  "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.   English Standard Version (ESV)

In conversations and in watching the news I believe that people here in the U.S. have never been more dissatisfied with their options in the presidential election.  The feeling that many have is that the candidates are in it for themselves, some get the feeling that they view the position as an inheritance, something that is due to them or that it should be theirs because of default, no one else qualified.

I read the following in a devotional that quotes Pastor A.W. Tozer on Christian Leadership, written more than 50 years ago, it is fitting for our time, sadly not only for the political scene, but in many of our churches as well.

"We have but to become acquainted with, or even listen to, the big names of our times to discover how wretchedly inferior most of them are. Many appear to have arrived at their present eminence by pull, brass, nerve, gall and lucky accident. We turn away from them sick to our stomach and wonder for a discouraged moment if this is the best the human race can produce. But we gain our self-possession again by the simple expedient of recalling some of the plain men we know, who live unheralded and unsung, and who are made of stuff infinitely finer than the hoarse-voiced braggarts who occupy too many of the highest offices in the land. . . .

. . . the church also suffers from this evil notion. Christians have fallen into the habit of accepting the noisiest and most notorious among them as the best and the greatest. They too have learned to equate popularity with excellence, and in open defiance of the Sermon on the Mount they have given their approval not to the meek but to the self-assertive; not to the mourner but to the self-assured; not to the pure in heart who see God but to the publicity hunter who seeks headlines. Man: The Dwelling Place of God, 96-97."

The candidates are loud, proud, boisterous, and quick to put down their opponents.  There seems to be no "filter" in what they will say and nothing they will do to try to avoid hurting or disparaging their opponent.  The candidates often seem out of control.  When we see the word "meek" here in verse 5 it carries a different meaning than it has gained in our society.  Most today would equate it with weakness.  But is actually about control, it has to do with power under control.  John MacArthur writes that it is "supreme self control empowered by the Spirit. 

The goal of this passage is not  to correct political candidates, it is a message for Christ followers.  It looks at the motives and the  intents  of our hearts.  Read the passage below, the Beatitudes, may it change our attitude and influence our actions, our whole lives.  May we exhibit that meekness, that power under the control of the Spirit, and not fall into or participate in the fray.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV