Poor in Spirit

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

In His sermon Jesus repeatedly uses the word “blessed” to describe the condition attached to certain characteristics and actions. But what does it mean to be “blessed”?

The definition found in a dictionary tells us that it means a person is experiencing happiness, contentment, and good fortune. The way Jesus speaks in connection with being blessed certainly supports that definition. However, I’m not sure we always understand it as He does.

Blessedness and possession of the kingdom are not a reward or gift given for being poor in spirit. Blessed is the state in which the poor in spirit currently live. That is, a person who is happy, content, and of the good fortune to be in possession of the kingdom of God is one who is poor in spirit.

Jesus desires us to be poor in spirit. When we are, we will be like Him, happy, content and living in the kingdom of God. This is not a goal. It is a description of the life lived by the poor in spirit. Blessed are, not will be blessed in heaven, or sometime later in life. The poor in spirit are blessed now.

If that is so, and we’re not feeling it, we might be wondering what it means to be poor in spirit. It has almost nothing to do with material things. There is no blessedness in simply being poor except as an escape from the snares peculiar to being wealthy. Likewise, to be poor is spirit is not to lack spiritual gifts, talents or callings.

“Poor” is a relative term in our world. As a young, financially struggling GI, I was sure I was poor until I was stationed in the Philippines and my entire conception of poverty changed. Jesus’ world had its working poor. When we’re speaking about the poor in spirit, we are not talking about the hard-working person doing all he can spiritually to scrape by. The poor in spirit live far below the world of self-sufficiency. The poor in spirit are slaves and beggars totally dependent on their Master.

They are so poor that when faced with a crisis, they have nowhere to turn, no resources to trust in, and no one to save them but God. Their first step is always toward God. They live on the resources of the kingdom. It is their meat and drink, their night out, and their only shelter.

Adam and Eve had poor, humble spirits until they chose to “be as gods”, sufficient in themselves, and trusting in their own might. If today, our world is harsh place where the “innocent” die, it is because we are trusting our lives to the power and wealth of our own bankrupt spirits refusing to plead for an already paid for salvation.

Maranatha