Matthew 5:5 gives us Jesus' beaitutde on meekness, but it’s not popular to be meek. Whenever we hear that word associated with anyone, we think of a person who is spineless, submissive, and afraid. However, when Jesus used that word he was referring the term as it was used in ancient Greek, when meekness was one of the great ethical words of its day. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle defined virtues as the medium between two extremes. For example, he placed the virtue of generosity between the extremes of a tightwad and a spendthrift. In terms of the word, “meek” Aristotle placed it between the extremes of excessive anger and too little anger. Jesus obviously had Aristotle’s perspective in mind when he spoke this beatitude, and the Scottish theologian William Barclay accurately translates this verse as … “Blessed are those who are angry at the right time, and never angry at the wrong time.”
When is the right time, and wrong time, to be angry? If we follow Jesus further in his great sermon, the latter part of Matthew 5 gives us a clue. Those who are called to love their enemies, to go two miles instead of one mile, and to pray for those who persecute them, should never get angry over personal insult. It is right to get angry at injuries and injustices done to other people. As William Barclay writes, “Selfless anger can be one of the great moral dynamics of the world.” May God bless you with the wisdom to know the difference between the right time and wrong time to get angry.
Dennis
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