Editorial February 28, 1994 Issue

Reverence, meekness, and healing

Barbara M. Vining

Hardship and injustice present themselves in life-experience in a variety of forms and intensities. Anger is a common human response. When the going gets really tough, people have even been known to become angry at God, supposing Him to be either the perpetrator or the permitter of evil.

In sharp contrast is the meekness Christ Jesus expressed. Far from being passive or submissive in the face of humanity's common enemies—discord, disease, sin, and death—Jesus effectively rebelled against them. Instead of wasting himself in anger, Jesus strengthened himself in prayer. In calmness and composure, he armed himself from within with a spiritual understanding of God's great goodness and omnipotence, and the consequent impotence of evil and error. In reverence for God and His creation, Jesus—humbly subordinating himself to God's supreme authority and will, and moved with compassion and love for his fellowman—disarmed and destroyed evil through the forces of divine Truth, Life, and Love. That's meekness in action! Meekness has healing power.

It goes without saying that anger and human pride have no power to heal. On the other hand, a passive or submissive attitude toward error is intolerable; we should rebel against it in every instance with the healing, redeeming power of God. This can be accomplished through reverence and Christly meekness. As we read in the book of Proverbs in the Bible, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city" (16:32).

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