FOCUS ON FAITH
THE first in a monthly series of faith features, this week Bishop Paul Brooks from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Macclesfield, talks about what it means to be “meek and humble.” JESUS said in Matthew 5:5: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
Some translations of the Bible render this as: “Happy are the humble, they will receive what God has promised.”
At first this may seem counter to our intuitions. Aren’t those who are meek and humble those who get walked over?
Surely we need to be strong and confident in order to be happy, not weak.
On reflection, meekness and humility need not be characteristics of weakness but instead empowering virtues which lead to strength and growth. When we practise the virtues of meekness and humility, we choose to be teachable, we choose to listen.
In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R Covey said: “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
If we listen with the intent to understand, we listen not only with our ears but also with our hearts.
New possibilities then open up to us, we can truly understand the other person, finding common ground on which to build and create solutions that were not obvious at first.
The result is stronger relationships and greater trust with one another. I believe that among many other reasons, Jesus came to earth to show us how to live in happiness. Not just in a world to come but here and now.
When Jesus said blessed are the meek, I don’t think he was talking about some distant group of people, but was rather calling us to action.
We can all be the meek and humble.
As we practise the virtues of meekness and humility here and now, I believe we will better understand one another, we will build stronger relationships and strengthen the love in our community.
And in this blessed state we will be able to fully receive all that God has promised.
If you would like your faith to feature on this page, please email us at communities@ menmedia.co.uk