How Will God Vote? Part III
“Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5 (KJV)
The whole idea of applying the Beatitudes to contemporary American politics seems like a fool’s errand. The first two essays addressed “blessed are the poor in spirit” and “blessed are those who mourn.” Now we have reached “blessed are the meek.” Why not just say blessed are the field mice in a world of cats, foxes, and owls? Rejoice for a legion of predators wants to eat you for dinner.
Remember, the deeper message of the Beatitudes is about God flipping the world’s hierarchies and bringing goodness out of weakness or loss. A season of loss and despair may be preparing us for new growth and service in our chaotic world. Can we grieve in the present while becoming more faithful citizens of our nation and the world?
Studying the original Greek words in the Beatitudes only deepens our discomfort with the paradoxical sayings. Lexicons suggest gentle and mild as synonyms for meek. Imagine a corporate press release that boasted, “We proudly announce our new mild sales representative.” No political party would ever proclaim, “our candidate is gentle enough to crush the terrorists and grind the opposition party into the dust.”
When applied to animals the word for meek means gentled, tame, or trained. It describes an animal or person that can be easily…
