"Meek old Mr. Martin couldn't hurt a flea," the girls sang as they jumped rope. Dad enjoyed watching them, but this particular rhyme bothered him. Every new verse began with the words "Meek old Mr. Martin," and it went on to describe another way in which he was weak.

At dinner, Dad asked Kirsten if she knew the meaning of the word meek. "Sure," Kirsten responded. "It means to be chicken." She laughed as she thought about the rhyme.

"That's one meaning for the word," acknowledged Dad, "but it's often not the best one. Did you know that the Bible says the meek are 'blessed'-and that it also refers to the 'meekness' of Jesus? Do you think He was chicken?"

"Of course not," answered Kirsten. She was surprised at the thought of Jesus being meek.

"I don't think so, either," agreed Dad. "Jesus was quite the opposite! He knew how He would suffer in coming to earth and going to the cross, but He came anyway."

"But then what does that word mean?" asked Kirsten.

"Another word for meekness is humility," said Dad. "It's human nature to be proud and to look after ourselves first, but the Bible teaches Christians to strive to be meek, or humble." Dad smiled. "I just want to be sure you know that being meek is often a good thing."

Kirsten thought about that. "I guess we should make up a different rhyme," she decided. "Just so nobody gets confused, we could change it to . . . ah . . . to 'Weak old Willie Weller' instead of 'Meek old Mr. Martin.' What do you think?"

"I guess that would work," said Dad, "but don't you think it would be even nicer if you made it say something kind-like 'Nice old Nellie Norton,' and then it could describe some nice thing she did?"

Kirsten shrugged, then nodded. "Sure," she agreed. "That would work just as well." She grinned. "We'll see who can make the best rhyme."