Most would acknowledge that the earth belongs to the cunning and the ruthless. The gentle are pushed aside, run over, used and abused by those who climb upon their backs to occupy positions of wealth and power. How does this square with Jesus’ 3rd Beatitude, “Blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth.”?
You may dominate the earth, in the short term, if you aim for wealth and power. But in the getting, you will lose. Jesus sees from a mountain whose heights rise above our mortal measure. From his vantage point, he sees the ultimate result. In the end, it is the gentle who will inherit for they are willing to suffer the loss of all things for the preservation of their souls. The measure of success is about character. Not about possessions, fame and power.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law,” (Galatians 5:19-23).
Speaking of the Messiah, Isaiah wrote "He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.” (Isaiah 43:2-3). Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am gentle and humble in heart …” (Matthew 11:29)
Martin Luther King Jr., the most effective leader of the Civil Rights movement was strongly influenced in this regard by Jesus and Mahatma Ghandi. He wrote, “I came to see for the first time that the Christian concept of love operating through the Ghandian method of non-violence was one of the most potent weapons available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom. … This principle became the guiding light of our movement. Christ furnished the spirit and motivation while Ghandi furnished the method.”
Nelson Mandela was born into the South Africa Xhosa tribe. His mother was a devout Christian and sent him to a Methodist school. While working on a BA degree he taught Bible classes in the local community as part of the Student Christian Association. Later a leader of the ANC that opposed apartheid, he was arrested as a political prisoner and spent 27 years in prison, most of it in hard labor, sleeping in a 5 by 7 concrete cell with straw bedding. Released in 1990 he was elected president of South Africa in 1994. Expected to retaliate against his oppressors, instead he emphasized personal forgiveness and reconciliation.
“Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:5).
This is the third Reflection in an eight-part series on the Beatitudes.
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