Return to The American Night Watch home page. James' virtue of plain speaking is reflected in his epistle, which is a wellspring of practical, pastoral advice. Human beings have a tendency to be just the opposite of what James has encouraged - quick to speak, quick to jump to conclusions, and loathe to listen. Nevertheless, the context of James' remarks indicates how serious James is and how important his instruction is. This is an unfortunate misunderstanding of Scriptural teaching.
Biblical meekness is in no sense weakness.
Gentleness and humility are part of this meekness, but again, not in the sense of weakness - in the sense of recognizing God's place over Creation and being comfortable with His sovereignty and plan, and of being aware of one's proper place within creation and accepting that place. This is an appeal for meekness towards God, an appropriate attitude of faith first towards God the Creator, and then towards the rest of Creation because of one's relationship to the Creator. James describes at least three aspects of meekness in accepting the truth of God. Only God is flawless. Moses is a living example of this truth - his anger brought exile, his trust the exodus.