Being meek doesn’t mean you have to be submissive or spineless.
The Master, in fact, only submitted His will to His Father, and yet He described Himself as meek: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 29-20). In this example, the Lord is telling us about His patient and empathetic nature. His willingness to bear our burdens with us, step by step.
In delivering the beatitudes, the Lord said “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) Meekness here refers to being willing to follow the gospel. And being teachable. Typically, the poor and meek man is teachable and desires to improve his circumstances, whereas the rich man prefers to do the teaching.
Some of the best athletes have been the most teachable. Dr. Bruce Brown in his “Qualities of a Great Athlete” paper, lists a Teachable Spirit as #2. He says athletes want to learn and improve. They know that correction happens because a coach sees potential in them to get better. They have learned to take correction as a compliment and look at correction as an opportunity to improve. The athlete responds to correction with verbal and physical cues that s/he is listening and learning. But most of us look at any correction as criticism, and we often respond with an excuse. Having a teachable spirit is a choice we must make every day. I read about a famous Italian soccer coach, Arrigo Sacchi, who said “the greatest quality of the greatest players is humility. Humility. What an underestimated weapon. Like every other human being, there are a few words that frustrate me and the worst is ‘I know’, answered back from players when I suggest corrections. ‘I know.’ It just kills me. Please just say, ‘Thanks coach. I understand and I’m trying to do it.’ I still learn something everyday and I’m 57.”
We should live everyday hoping to be taught something. Being meek helps us get in the right frame of mind to make improvements in our lives.