There is a correlation between meekness and reasonableness. A meek person is willing to listen to and consider another person’s point of view and then measures it carefully against the scriptures. They are slow to anger, quick to listen, and careful in response.
A meek person is also able to give a reasonable argument for the positions they hold. If I put my opinion out there without any Biblical support, is that meekness? No matter how soft-spoken I might be about it, acting as my own authority without Biblical support is nothing less than pride.
There is quite a bit of confusion about meekness when it comes to disagreements within the church. Meekness is not a temperament. It’s not speaking quietly. It is power under control.
Two people could be having a passionate and even heated discussion as they are making reasonable arguments and listening to each other. Their passionate and loud exchange could still be marked by meekness if both sides are pointing to the Word of God as their standard of truth and themselves as servants of the truth, and they are able to reconcile based on the study of the truth.
However, a meek person has an entirely different type of interaction with those who are not saved. The unsaved don’t have a standard of truth and our job is to help them see Jesus, not to argue with them over theological issues.
Be gentle and respectful with the unsaved.
It says in 1 Peter 3:15, “…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…”
Peter is calling us to be witnesses for Christ and not prosecuting attorneys judging the sin of the unsaved. Arguing theology with the unsaved is power out of control. Jesus could have crushed the woman of Samaria or overpowered Nicodemus, but He restrained himself. Jesus had total control over His power and patiently led them to the truths written in the Word of God.
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