A People of Influence

I am currently reading through the gospel of Matthew, and as it’s not the first time I’ve read this book, I find it can be very easy to read over something and not let it sink in, because I’ve heard it before. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit isn’t hindered by my weakness (which is such a bonus), and something jumped out at me. In chapter five, Jesus sits down on the side of a mountain with His disciples and begins teaching them about life in Kingdom. Among the many radical, counter-cultural statements Jesus makes, this one in particular got me thinking: 

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

Matthew 5v5 NIV 

Well inheriting the earth sounds awesome, but what does it mean to be meek? It isn’t really a word we use everyday, so I whipped out my concordance, and what I found was really quite interesting, not to mention profound and pretty powerful. In Greek (which is the original language of the New Testament), the word meek means “gentle, meek, the positive moral quality of dealing with people in a kind manner, with humility and consideration”. 

Lets get our heads around what Jesus is saying here. If we put these two together, we can see Jesus looking at His disciples and saying, “Blessed are those who deal with people in a kind manner, with humility and consideration, for they will inherit the earth.” 

How cool is that! If we love people and treat them in a way that makes God happy, Jesus promises we will inherit the earth. But then what does that mean? What does it mean to inherit the earth? 

The way I see it, if were to inherit the earth, that would mean God giving me influence in society; that would mean God giving me favour with government and those in authority: that would mean God giving me power, not political power (although it could happen), but power in the sense that people would respect and put weight in my opinion and values. 

Well that sounds cool, but whats the point of all that? I believe God desires that His children would be people of influence in every sphere of society, for purpose of advancing His Kingdom and seeing His will done. We as Christians should be seen and known in society, not as people who are judgmental and condemning, but as people who love, people who treat others in a kind manner, with humility and consideration. Then, and only then, will we receive true influence and God-given favour in the sight of people. We will inherit the earth, to the glory of God. 

So what does this look like for you and me? Maybe it will be in our friend groups, with our families, at school, in our workplace, our local community, with government or leaders in society, but wherever we are, it means being that person that people come to because they trust us, they know we’re kind and we treat people with respect and consideration, and so they want our opinion. God desires that we as His children would be people of influence and favour, as we represent Him on earth. It is God’s heart to give us, as His Church, the earth as our inheritance. And it is solely in meekness that He will do this, because only then will we be too focused on loving God and loving people to use this privilege selfishly. 

Holy Spirit, thank You for giving us everything we need to live a life that really counts. Please help us to be meek. Help us to deal with people in kindness, humility and with consideration, that we may show your incredible love in everything we do. Give us wisdom and teach us how to use our influence and favour to advance Your Kingdom and bring glory to our wonderful Jesus. 

Amen.