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Blessed are the Meek…Leaders

by BryanFebruary 11, 20072 min read

In his piece on meekness in leadership, Mark Rutland defines meekness as “power under control”. Decades ago, E. Stanley Jones, the great Methodist missionary to India, spoke of meekness in similar fashion, often using the metaphor of a domesticated animal to illustrate controlled power.

Meekness, says Rutland, can only be demonstrated in “the context of power.” This is what he calls a virtue’s “theater of operation”: the particular circumstances in which virtue is expressed. Picture a playground confrontation in which a young boy refuses to retaliate when offended by a smaller, weaker mate. Although able to fight back, the lad demonstrates meekness in his self-restraint.

However, this view overlooks the attitude from which action springs. The argument that meekness is only expressed in restrained action implies that one must be able to retaliate in order to be meek. Yet stories abound of circumstances in which people have no power to retaliate and, nonetheless, embody meekness. Take, for instance, the tragedy involving the five Amish school girls killed by a gunman. Five sets of parents grieving the loss of their precious daughters; five more holding bedside vigil praying for a miracle. They could not truly retaliate against the offender who had taken his own life. In this sense, there was no context of power for fighting back. Yet, the Amish community demonstrated meekness through their attitudes toward the killer’s family. Rather than demanding vengeance, they embraced his wife and children, and mourned his death alongside that of their own children. In restraining and redirecting attitudes, they showed forgiveness. This is the epitome of meekness and humility: attitudes under control.

Meek leaders not only restrain their actions but redirect their attitudes, demonstrating humility and meekness in both thought and deed.

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