Who Inherits the World?
What do you look for in a good friend?
Certainly a good friend is someone you would enjoy spending a lot of time with.
But let’s go deeper.
What is it about them that so attracts you into their company?
Could it be they are relaxed?
Also, of course, they are approachable, easy to get to know.
Perhaps it’s the fact they seem more interested in others than they are in themselves.
They aren’t out to prove anything to anyone and they treat everyone equally well, not favoring some over others.
These sorts also have the ability to talk with children as easily as they can converse with those occupying the highest positions in society.
And they have a great, usually self-deprecating, sense of humor that they use to entertain but never to tease or make others feel small.
Now, if you had to wrap all of these characteristics that comprise the attributes of a good friend into one word, what would it be?
There is such a word.
Unfortunately, over time it has become generally unpopular.
For this reason, allow me to come at this word first from its original Greek, in order to try and see if we can get past some of our built-in biases.
The word is praus.
Its closest English word, as far as I can tell is mild.
Praus, when describing a person, means to be of a mild disposition, which I think fits well into the description of the traits of a good friend.
Another way to get at its meaning is to look at its opposite.
The opposite of being praus, is to be nervous, on edge, intense, freaked out, headstrong, harsh, annoying, self-absorbed, and unfriendly.
Unfortunately, the most common word for praus is meek, which I consider today as being a pretty mousy word that in today’s usage implies cowering in a corner or seeing oneself as no more important than a worm.
It’s letting the bully kick sand in your face because you are afraid.
It’s being a milk toast and always going along to get along. No one wants to see themselves in letters of endorsement as being described as meek.
And instead of working toward better descriptions and explanations as to what is meant when Jesus states in the third Beatitude,
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth
Matthew 5:5 ESV
we instead just meekly allow others to poorly define it while trying not to make any eye contact in its defense – until now.
It’s time to get the meaning right.
Perhaps better words than meek today would be gentle and humble, but even these need to be more accurately understood.
So let’s go there, looking first at the word gentle.
To be gentle, when you stop to seriously think about it, implies an underlying strength or power.
Think of a weightlifter holding a sleeping baby in his arms. This is the picture of gentleness.
The baby is completely safe and protected.
Now the word humble.
To be humble is the same idea. My favorite picture of true humility is that of a battle horse.
Think of a powerful animal who in earlier times, when cavalries were a part of warfare, could be ridden onto the battlefield with bombs exploding all around and still follow every command by the touch of its rider.
A humble woman or man obeys orders and does not take over the controls themselves, even though they could certainly do so, even when it might be the safer move.