{"id":3852,"date":"2017-05-11T10:57:18","date_gmt":"2017-05-11T15:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisciplemaker.org\/?p=3852"},"modified":"2017-05-11T10:57:18","modified_gmt":"2017-05-11T15:57:18","slug":"do-you-inherit-the-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Inherit The Earth?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Who gets the earth?
\nBecause that is the question on all of our lips, right?
\nI think we all know who gets the earth!
\nthe successful, the strong, the brutal, the bullies
\nthose who climb their way to the top
\nthose with the most Facebook friends
\nthose with the most Apple products (I have four)
\nthose whose frequent flyer card says \u201cExecutive Platinum\u201d (mine says \u201cPlatinum\u201d . . . boo!)
\nAnd then my guess is, if you\u2019ve grown up like me, you have something like this as an understanding of what meek means:
\nthe humble
\nthe wallflowers
\nthose who don\u2019t correct you when you say their name wrong
\nthose who don\u2019t fight for their place in line when someone pushes in front
\nthose who stand by and watch others get ahead,
\nthose who get walked on . . . the doormats.
\nthe \u201csat upon, spat upon, ratted on\u201d
\n<\/a>
\nThe \u201clittle people\u201d don\u2019t inherit the earth. The big, aggressive ones do.
\nI have to admit I\u2019ve got power problems. You might not notice them at first, because they are well camouflaged, but they\u2019re there, tucked away, ready to pounce and grab when anything I want comes my way.
\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Beatitudes Album with Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and others.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nI remember back in the day whenever a generous manufacturer would send us boys in Delirious? a box of free goodies\u2014designer T-shirts and sunglasses, some kind of free swag that could make me look cool. There was always that irritating urge to get to the box first, and if I didn\u2019t, I had that terrible feeling of missing out on the best piece.
\nI hate that feeling of being left out or passed over. I\u2019ve had to battle that feeling of entitlement. My gut reaction is to want to get to the front first, stick a flag in the ground, and stake my claim.
\nSo who are the meek?<\/strong>
\nMaybe we should look around the hillside that day Jesus taught the Beatitudes. He didn\u2019t announce these things for the benefit of people who weren\u2019t there. He was speaking to the very people who needed to hear what he had to say.
\n
\"\"
Watch the video for The Beatitudes Project<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nAnd there was quite a crowd. Jesus had been going out and getting among the people where they lived, teaching the truth of God\u2019s Kingdom, and healing peoples\u2019 bodies and minds\u2014and these people followed him. The niv says that \u201clarge crowds\u201d came from Galilee (a very Jewish area where Jesus grew up), the Ten Towns or Decapolis (a Greek area settled by Alexander the Great), Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan.
\nMatthew is showing us that the people following Jesus were from all over the region, all the points of the compass. It was a ragtag jumble of people and culture.
\nJesus\u2019 message is that all are included. Even the ones outside of our religion and prejudices. All these people whose lives had been touched by this traveling teacher, living proof that once you\u2019ve experienced love and hope and mercy, it\u2019s hard to stay away.
\nLove, hope, and mercy were a rare commodity in a land occupied by the Roman superpower that was in charge from England to Asia Minor. These people had lost their homes and land and families. They were broken and trampled upon. The middle classes had disappeared because of high taxes, and all that were left were the very rich (the colluders) or the very poor (everyone else).
\nThese are Matthew\u2019s meek, his \u201clittle people\u201d:
\nthose who are overpowered and oppressed.
\nthose who are bullied and marginalized.
\nthose who have lost the power of choice and opportunity.
\nthose who are born into the \u201cwrong\u201d family or religious community.
\nthose who are seen as \u201cthe other\u201d or \u201cthe outsider.\u201d
\nThis meek beatitude is for those in awful situations who lack the power to do anything about it. This is about a poverty of power and choice.<\/strong> It\u2019s about the ones who, with great humility, hear and accept the invitation to find a way to carry on in the most awful, difficult, and dire circumstances.
\nThe invitation to carry on comes from a man who came not to overthrow with violence and revenge and entitlement, but to lead the way in nonviolence. Showing us how to love our enemies. Healing our bodies and minds. It\u2019s a hard, countercultural, upside-down message to hear.
\nAnd who are the meek today? They are in our towns and cities, but they remain unnoticed and will stay unseen unless we take the time to look and be present, become friends and share our lives. The meek are those whose presence is constantly denied or ignored. They are not just powerless. For them, power has never been an option.
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Learn how God is on your side.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nMany teachers who are far cleverer and more scholarly than I have said that meek means controlled strength. Some give the example of a wild horse that has been broken in and tamed. This beautiful beast still has wild strength, but its master can control it. But when I hear this explanation, all I can think is that once there was a beautiful wild animal, strong and free, and now it\u2019s not free at all. To me, an example of strength under control is Martin Luther King Jr., who gave his very life, his last bit of strength, seeking equality and justice for all. He remained strong and dignified in the face of racism and persecution and lived his message of peace and nonviolence until the end.
\nBeing meek is not something we do. It\u2019s something we are\u2014and often because it is forced upon us when we are oppressed, bullied, and marginalized, when the power of choice and opportunity and resources have been taken away, when our very presence is ignored and, if people see us at all, we are seen as the other and \u201cless than.\u201d
\nAnd even in this, divine presence is offered, and God invites us to carry on, to be strong and still be open to what this life has to offer\u2014because God is on our side.<\/p>\n
\n

Continue reading\u00a0Words from the Hill: An Invitation to the Unexpected<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Stu Garrard. Explore the beatitudes with Words from the Hill<\/em>\u00a0and the larger Beatitudes Project<\/a>.\u00a0The project also includes an album and documentary film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who gets the earth? Because that is the question on all of our lips, right? I think we all know who gets the earth! the successful, the strong, the brutal, the bullies those who climb their way to the top … <\/p>\n

Read moreDo You Inherit The Earth?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nDo You Inherit The Earth? - The Disciplemaker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do You Inherit The Earth? - The Disciplemaker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Who gets the earth? Because that is the question on all of our lips, right? I think we all know who gets the earth! the successful, the strong, the brutal, the bullies those who climb their way to the top ... Read moreDo You Inherit The Earth?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Disciplemaker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-11T15:57:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/05\/Inherit-the-Earth.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"601\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Disciplemaker Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Disciplemaker Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"The Disciplemaker Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/336a0124246a4b32dfcd97632e442fd5\"},\"headline\":\"Do You Inherit The Earth?\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-11T15:57:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-11T15:57:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/\"},\"wordCount\":1099,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Grow\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/\",\"name\":\"Do You Inherit The Earth? - The Disciplemaker\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-11T15:57:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-11T15:57:18+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Do You Inherit The Earth?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/\",\"name\":\"The Disciplemaker\",\"description\":\"Bold. Loving. Sensible.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization\",\"name\":\"NavPress\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/cropped-The-Disciplemaker.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/cropped-The-Disciplemaker.png\",\"width\":4092,\"height\":818,\"caption\":\"NavPress\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/336a0124246a4b32dfcd97632e442fd5\",\"name\":\"The Disciplemaker Team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13f656eb42ae7a3178247402a948adef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13f656eb42ae7a3178247402a948adef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"The Disciplemaker Team\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/author\/dgeeslin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Do You Inherit The Earth? - The Disciplemaker","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Do You Inherit The Earth? - The Disciplemaker","og_description":"Who gets the earth? Because that is the question on all of our lips, right? I think we all know who gets the earth! the successful, the strong, the brutal, the bullies those who climb their way to the top ... Read moreDo You Inherit The Earth?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/","og_site_name":"The Disciplemaker","article_published_time":"2017-05-11T15:57:18+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/05\/Inherit-the-Earth.jpg","width":900,"height":601,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"The Disciplemaker Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Disciplemaker Team","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/"},"author":{"name":"The Disciplemaker Team","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/336a0124246a4b32dfcd97632e442fd5"},"headline":"Do You Inherit The Earth?","datePublished":"2017-05-11T15:57:18+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-11T15:57:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/"},"wordCount":1099,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Grow"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/","url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/","name":"Do You Inherit The Earth? - The Disciplemaker","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-05-11T15:57:18+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-11T15:57:18+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/do-you-inherit-the-earth\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Do You Inherit The Earth?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/","name":"The Disciplemaker","description":"Bold. Loving. Sensible.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization","name":"NavPress","url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/cropped-The-Disciplemaker.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/cropped-The-Disciplemaker.png","width":4092,"height":818,"caption":"NavPress"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/336a0124246a4b32dfcd97632e442fd5","name":"The Disciplemaker Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13f656eb42ae7a3178247402a948adef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13f656eb42ae7a3178247402a948adef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"The Disciplemaker Team"},"url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/author\/dgeeslin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3852"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}