Matthew 5:5: Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (NIV)
Pastor Mike noted (correctly, IMO) that in today's society, it's especially hard for men to be meek and gentle, as it's not a quality valued in men. But that made me think of Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" (a kind of post-apocalyptic book--incredibly compelling, rather dark and not from a Christian worldview at all). Nadine has a pretty good review of it--though she was a bit more positive toward its morality than I am.
I think you could argue that Peeta, the male lead, embodies many of the Beatitudes, while Katniss, the female lead, rather does not. And I adored Peeta in that book (haven't read the sequels and don't plan to). While I found Katniss fascinating, I can't say I actually LIKED her as a person, exactly. It could be that she's too human, fair enough, but I really wanted to shake some sense into her...
That said, Peeta's gentleness makes me wonder if guys actually like Peeta, or if he's just a woman's fantasy. Thoughts? Can men enjoy reading a "meek" hero?
(EDIT: I answer a great question in the next post.)
I have no idea what a man's ideal meek character would be. However, don't you think the modern connotation of "meek" is a little different than the presentation of meek in the Beatitudes? I would like to think meek as the opposite of arrogant, prideful and self-serving. A meek hero(to me)would be incredibly strong, humble and full of self-control.
ReplyDeleteEXCELLENT question. (I thought it was just good, but then I did some Googling and saw just how excellent it was!)
ReplyDeletePastor Mike pointed out Jesus as "meek" and I think he put it kind of like holding your power back. (In "Hunger Games," while Peeta was physically strong, he didn't exactly fit with that definition.)
I will address the definition in another bonus entry tomorrow. It's pretty interesting.