Brian Johnson (Arete +1 micro-chapter) examines the Beatitude “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,” questioning the traditional rendering of 'meek.' He cites teachers Eric Butterworth and Steve Chandler to argue the Greek praeus is better read as 'tamed' or 'disciplined,' using metaphors (Niagara Falls, electrical conductor) to suggest the phrase encourages surrender to divine flow and disciplined self-mastery to channel latent potential.
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Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another arete plus one degree. Another micro chapter 451 ideas. Any one of which I hope can help you change your life in aggregate, I hope will help you activate your heroic potential. If you haven't gotten arete yet, get on that. Hope you enjoy it. Here's the idea. Who shall inherit the earth?
Was it the meek? Or the disciplined?
Or tamed? Once upon a time, an extraordinary teacher gave a little sermon on the Mount. Among other things, we are told that.
He told us, blessed are the meek.
For they shall inherit the earth.
But alas, what did Jesus really mean when he said that?
It's kind of tough to know for.
Sure given the fact that Jesus spoke Aramaic and the Gospels were written in Greek long after he was gone. But get this, the Greek word that was used in that passage is praeus.
According to the great spiritual teacher Eric Butterworth, who was, among other things, Maya Angelou's spiritual mentor, the word praise didn't.
Mean meek per se. It translates more closely to tamed. He tells us to think of Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls has always produced an enormous amount of potential energy, but it wasn't until recently that it was tamed such that all that latent energy falling all day every day was captured and channeled such that it could light up a good chunk of the Eastern seaboard. Butterworth tells us that Jesus was telling us that we have a ton of latent potential power. And very importantly, he was telling us that we need to tame ourselves such that we can be a powerful vessel for that limit limitless divine energy. Here's how Butterworth puts it in Discover the power within you. When Jesus says blessed are the meek, he doesn't mean a surrender to people, but to God. The best conductor of electricity is the substance that is least resistant to the flow of the electric current. Likewise, the best conductor of divine power is the person who who is non resistant to the flow of divine power. This attitude comes from a conviction that God is always the answer to human needs and a willingness to submit wholeheartedly to the flow of the Spirit in and through us. Steve Chandler shares yet another slight tweak on the translation of prayers. He tells us it means something closer to disciplined.
Enter. Blessed are the tamed and disciplined, for they shall inherit the earth.
Here's to the wisdom and discipline and love and courage that leads to your inheritance, hero.
