Thoughts on the Beatitudes, Part 5: Blessed are the meek; they shall inherit the earth.
OK, let’s get this out of the way. When I am driving behind you on a two-lane, double yellow line road and you are poking along at five miles per hour over the speed limit OR LOWER, I am not a good person. In such situations, my children are known to rightly chide me and call me out. “Chill, dad!” is their righteous admonition. But I don’t do chill in my voiture. Someone once told me that it’s my “prophetic personality” coming out. Whatever.
The same reactions arise when I read about certain events, political opinions or decisions, personal views, and cultural trends. I quickly envision the administration of holy wrath that the actors or speakers more than deserve. I write scathing denunciations in my head, engage in astounding feats of oratorical legerdemain, and demolish every argument advanced in answer to my unassailable logic. I begin to warm up to the designation: A prophet indeed.
Sam
December 29, 2017 2:11 pmI especially like this line: “Meekness is surrendering our lives to the Father in the midst of difficult circumstances that we cannot or should not influence or control.”
Maybe “especially especially” circumstances I “should not” influence or control (even though I may have power to do so).
Thanks
PAUL BECKMAN
December 29, 2017 2:17 pmYes, especially especially meekness is God’s grace curbing our urge to control or dominate when we have the power to do so. It is important to be meek when we have no control, but perhaps far more so when we possess it.
Charlie
January 19, 2018 3:16 pmPaul, I love reading your posts! The content is excellent, but it also brings fond thoughts of you, Joanne, and your family. This time I’m reminded of our first visit to Ann Arbor. You drove our “new to us” minivan on the twisting dirt roads at breakneck speed and commented that it handled like a car and not a bulky van…ha ha!
The other thought that I had while reading this is the serenity prayer…Lord, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. I shared this with a friend recently and I had not realized previously that R. Niebuhr came up with that prayer. There was a time when you recommended I read Niebuhr regarding some topic we must have been discussing. I’ll have to add him to my reading list.
Thanks for your posts. Thinking of you often.
God bless,
Charlie
pjbeckman
January 19, 2018 4:27 pmThanks for the encouragement and the memories, Mr. O. But the real question is, is the van still alive?
Many blessings on you and the fam.
Charlie
January 25, 2018 8:52 pmYes, we are still driving that faithful van everywhere we go. Perfect for hauling kids and their stuff!