WEEKLY INTRODUCTION: The theme for the Beatitudes is the same as Jesus’ message throughout His ministry, namely: “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” which means that it is “right here” and “right now.” It is a spiritual kingdom in which we enter through the gate of REPENTANCE and walk its streets by FAITH. Each Beatitude identifies the quality of one who has entered the Kingdom, followed by a promise to those who possess this quality. Once we enter the Kingdom, or we might say, once the Kingdom enters us, we receive all its blessings. In short, “to be blessed” is to be fully satisfied, lacking no good thing.

The First Beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt. 5:3).

So, just what does it mean to be “poor in spirit?” In the Greek language, the language of the New Testament, there are two words for “poor.”

The first is penes, which means “working poor,” that is, those who are just “getting by” with the basic necessities of life, but with no frills. They are considered to be “poor” by the standards of the more upscale residents around them. But Matthew uses another word, ptochos, which means absolute poverty, having nothing at all. Some translations simply use the word “humble,” and although this catches some of the spirit of the word, there is much more. To be “poor in spirit” is to live life with a sense of spiritual poverty, acknowledging a desperate need for God and utter dependence on Him.

I think that we can all recognize two different kinds of people in this world: Those who are PROUD IN SPIRIT – These are the ones who are self-confident, self-pleasing, and self-sufficient; unwilling to admit their need for God and are secretly defiant toward Him. In essence, they are striving to build their own kingdom, and this kingdom is of this world.

And then, there are the POOR IN SPIRIT – These are the ones who live life with a sense of dependence on God; who believe, as David did, that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart (Ps. 51:17); and who live out the truth that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (Jas. 4:6).

Most of you who are reading this blog have been followers of Jesus for some time now and have made a commitment to honor Him in every aspect of your life, including your character and conduct. You have been committed to living out your faith by putting aside all hypocrisy and growing in every area as a follower of Jesus. We all want to do good things and to live lives that will honor God, but there are some dangers that we need to avoid while striving to “be good.” You see,

THE BETTER WE BECOME…

1) The more we become impressed with ourselves – That’s pride!

2) The more we think God is impressed with us – That’s lunacy!

3) The more distance we create with our friends – That’s unfortunate!

4) The more distance we create with “sinners” – That’s sad!

5) The more distance we create with God – That’s tragic!

If you read through this list in a hurry, please take a minute and read through it again. We should all be searching our hearts to see if we are guilty of any of these things, and if so, to ask God to make the necessary changes in our attitudes. At any rate, these are cautionary thoughts for each of us.

You probably remember the Parable that Jesus told about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector who went to the temple to pray (Luke 18:9-14). The Pharisee lived, at least in the eyes of others, an impeccable life, and was guilty of each of the items in the list above. But the Tax Collector was convicted of his life that was lived far away from God, and he used just 7 words in his prayer:

“God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”

He asked God to not give him what he deserved (that’s mercy), and he identified himself as “the sinner.” Unfortunately, most translations do not honor the Greek text, and simply put “a sinner,” whereas the Greek uses the definite article “the.” He actually identified himself as “the sinner,” meaning that if you wanted to look up the definition of “sinner” in the dictionary, you would find his picture there! He saw himself as the perfect example of a sinner, a true sinner without equal!

Jesus used this parable to point to one who is truly repentant, one who is in desperate need of God and who is totally dependent upon Him not only for mercy, but for every aspect of life. This is what it means to be “poor in spirit.” And for all those who are “poor in spirit,” the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs, with all the blessings that come with it.

This week, I encourage each of us (including myself) to ask God to develop in us a “poverty of spirit” that is humble and contrite, a spirit that recognizes our total dependence on God in all areas of life. May the Lord bless you this week.