The meek shall inherit the earth

This all depends on your overall interpretation of the beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. I tend to interpret the beatitudes in an allegorical way and as a teaching on the progressive nature of salvation and sanctification. John Calvin seems to hold loosely to this line of thinking in his commentaries. If we fast forward to the end of the Bible and look at who will ultimately inherit the earth it will be those who are in Christ, those who are counted among His sheep. And Christians should be described as meek or humble, not proud or boastful.

If we read Jesus' sermon as a spiritual lesson that looks forward to His coming Kingdom I find little reason to be sad or disheartened since the great message is that God will see justice done and those truly deserving of honor honored. 

The word translated "meek" comes from a root word meaning "afflict, humble, humiliate." Yes, "the meek ones" are those who humbly wait on Jehovah God (the only true God) to right all the injustices inflicted upon them. "They will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace." (Psalm 37:11)

I have heard a couple of interesting interpretations of this verse. One is that the Earth is the realm of the Devil, so who would want to inherit it? If you are meek, it goes to you.

If we look at it from more Jewish perspective, the Devil doesn't exist as such and the original Hebrew (from Psalms) can be translated as humble. In Chasidism, it is said that Humility is God's cloak. A cloak is something that can be removed, it is not a permanent character trait. So, if you can act meek (but still have the capability of being the opposite), you can inherit the Earth (which, in this case, isnt such a bad thing).