When I hear the word “meek” I can’t help but think of the Avenger’s movie Ragnarok.
Ragnarok features Thor, the god of thunder, who flies around beating up bad guys with the help of his mighty magic hammer. But, alas, Thor’s evil sister shatters the hammer, leaving poor Thor flightless and weakened.
The movie’s climax is when Sis has Thor in a death grip, strangling the life out of her brother. Thor lapses into a trance and sees his deceased father Odin. “If I only had my hammer!” Thor laments. Odin then chastises his son. “You are not called the god of hammers. You are called the god of thunder. The hammer was only to help you control your power.”
It’s an epiphany moment for our hero. He awakens, calls up the power living within, and saves the day.
So, you’re probably asking “how in the world does this movie remind me of the word meek?”
Because, while most people think of meekness as submission and weakness, in reality it’s power that is under control.
The best example I can give you is this: Think of a man. A strong man. An able-to-bench-press-200-pounds kind of strong man. Now, place in that man’s hands a newborn baby. He holds it delicately and with great care. That, my friends, is power under control. It’s setting aside all that potential force to focus on the needs of others.
That’s what God did for us. He set aside all his power and wrapped himself in flesh to focus on our needs and show us the way to him.
In return, we are called upon to be meek also. God asks us to control our need to be in power so we can focus on others.
It’s seen in the father who walks the floors at 2 am with a crying baby. That is power under control.
It’s the mother who, even though she’s running late, lets her 3-year-old do the zipper himself to show he can.
It’s the sister who lets her younger sibling be the teacher when they play school.
Its when (I saw this one this week!) a mother asks her 10-year-old to teach his little brother how to rinse off his plate and put it in the dishwasher. That’s controlled power squared! The mother relinquishes her power to the 10-year-old, who in turn gives it to the younger brother! That’s meekness in action!
The controlled power of meekness lifts others up and empowers them. It teaches, encourages, comforts and protects.
It’s never “Ha! I beat you!“
It’s not “I told you I was right!“
And it isn’t found in “If you’d just done it my way this wouldn’t have happened.”
But to those who can learn to control their power, God has promised to smile down and say “My child, you have shown your strength in helping others. To you I give the world. I know it’s in good hands.”
I would love to say I’ve got this down. Sadly, I don’t. It’s still a work in process.
“Blessed be the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5