Nien Cheng's Meek Spirit

God makes an abundance of promises for those who are meek--those who are humble and cheerful and content with what their gracious God allows them. The meek are not annoyed because they think they deserve better. They refuse to be irritated when they see others possessed of more honor or riches than their wise God has given them.

As a result they can claim such promises as these: "The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way" (Psalm 25:9 KJV). "But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace" (Psalm 37:11).

The blessings of the meek reaches to their children. In her book Life and Death of Shanghai, Nien Cheng writes of  personal loss and injustice during China's so-called Cultural Revolution. The Red Guards looted her home and took many of her lovely things. 

After they left with many of her lovely pieces of art--some of them hundreds of years old--she said to her daughter, "Possessions are not important. Think of those beautiful porcelain pieces I had. Before they came to me, they had all passed through the hands of many people, surviving wars and natural disasters. I got them only because someone else lost them. While I had them, I enjoyed them; now some other people will enjoy them. Life itself is transitory. Possessions are not important."

Her beautiful meek spirit affected her daughter. Smiling for the first time since she had come home, her daughter said, "I'm glad you are so philosophical. Of course we must not let our happiness be dependent upon possessions."

Dear Lord, may we, too, possess a spirit of meekness that will be passed to the next generation.

"Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5 KJV).