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I was searching for some information on the internet when I came across an interesting photo. It showed a glass display case. Inside were individually packaged pieces of multi-layered chocolate cake. They looked delicious! But the thing that made the picture interesting was the sign on the display case. It read, “Please do not tap on glass. It scares the cake.”* Someone has a sense of humor! This picture reminded me of a misunderstanding many people have — which I’ll talk about in a moment.
This week on the podcast, we are focusing on one of the most misunderstood virtues, meekness. It is listed in the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23, that is, if you look at the King James Version. However, most newer translations use the word gentleness to describe the virtue. But it is the same basic word that Jesus uses in the Beatitudes. In Matthew 5:5 he says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”(NIV)
So how does the sign on the cake display relate? It is funny because we know fearfulness and cake don’t go together. But many think fearfulness and meekness do go together. They think that being meek or gentle is akin to being timid and fearful. But that is not the case. Instead, it means being pleasant, soothing or friendly. We’ll look at Jesus as an example of gentleness tomorrow.
*Ana Samways, “Sideswipe: June 18: Timid cake,” New Zealand Herald, June 17, 2021, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/sideswipe-june-18-timid-cake/WOGIHHMXH6IIVPNR36SQHXZGH4/
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.