The Dichotomy of the Meek and Strong

1 Chronicles 12:1-2(NKJV)

1Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, helpers in the war, 

2armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren.

1 Chronicles 12:8(NKJV)

8Some Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as gazelles on the mountains: 

Psalms 37:11(NKJV)

11    But the meek shall inherit the earth,     And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

There is a dichotomy in the Bible that I think a lot of people get wrong.  It is the dichotomy between meek and strong.  As I've written many times, the Bible is a book of balance and I think this subject is a good example of where something is out of balance.

Now obviously this is just my interpretation.  But isn't that the wonderful thing about our faith journey?  We have God's Word to study and once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior we get the Holy Spirit to guide us  in our journey and help us understand God's Word.  This is the interpretation as I understand it.

It seems to me that most people today tend to focus on the meek inheriting the earth part.  Another word to substitute there is poor.  It is almost as if "meek and poor" has reached sainthood and it is what we should aspire to. 

I find this odd when you consider that the Bible is full of Scripture, both OT and NT, that tell us that God wants His people to prosper. 

Now look at the first two passages from 1 Chronicles 12.  This is the telling of how God came to David's rescue.  Notice that God sent "mighty men of valor"?  God didn't send the meek to do battle for David.  God sent strongmen, mighty men, men of accomplishment. 

So what gives?  Here is my take.  God wants and needs strong mighty men and women as Christians.  We need to know how to be go getters.  We need to know how to be successful.  We need to know how to set goals and achieve them.  We need to be able to teach and mentor others to achieve success as well. 

But we also need to be meek in our strength.   We need to guard against letting our success go to our heads.  We need to always give thanks and credit to God for our strength and success, always acknowledging that He is the ultimate source of that strength and success.

Part of that meekness is submitting the strength and success that God has given us in the service of God's plan.  Not just by writing a check which the more financially successful you are the easier it is to do.  No I'm talking about a more personal investment in God's plan.  An investment of your time and your brain power in reaching others for Christ as Good directs you to do. 

I guess to sum it up I see it as the difference between a weak meekness and meekness from a position of strength and confidence.  Does that makes sense?