Jesus Life Hacks // Spiritual Bankruptcy Matthew 5:3
Mountain climbers could save time and energy if they reached the summit in a helicopter, but their ultimate purpose is conquest, not efficiency. Sure, they want to reach a goal, but they desire to do it by testing and deepening their character, discipline, and resolve.
Jesus puts this beatitude first because humility is the foundation of all other graces, a basic element in becoming a follower of Christ.
Matthew 5:3 NIV“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus requires His climbing companions to be poor in spirit.
What does it mean to be poor in spirit?
The words “poor” and “blessed” don’t seem to belong in the same sentence; right? How can we be blessed and poor at the same time?
1. First off we have to understand the word blessed.
In the original language To be “blessed” means to be approved or to find approval.
The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus teaching us how to receive God’s approval.
2. In the Greek language the word for ‘poor” referred:
Someone totally destitute, having absolutely nothing. This is the Greek word that Matthew used in the Beatitudes. They are bankrupt…they don’t have a job…they have nothing…nada.
This word describes the humble and helpless person who has no earthly resources and puts his whole trust in God.
Proverbs 29:23 "Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.”
Jesus is teaching us that if we want to achieve wholeness of life, if we want to be fulfilled human beings, if we want to be blessed in this way, if we want to experience genuine joy, we must accept the reign of God, acknowledge our complete dependence on Him and place our complete trust in Him.
Spiritual poverty is both commanded and commended.
The lie we believe many times tells us our image is more important than our character and our growth.
Being humble and spiritually poor teaches what it means to be spiritually emptied of self-confidence, self-importance and self-righteousness.
Jesus tells a story about what it means to be humble and poor in spirit:
Luke 18:10–14 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Pharisee stood, prayed by himself,boasted of fasting 2x week (by law 1x year), tithed on everything even spices.
Max Lucado: “You don’t impress the officials of NASA with a paper airplane. You don’t boast about your crayon sketches in the presence of Picasso. You don’t claim equality with Einstein because you can write ‘H20.’ And you don’t boast about your goodness in the presence of the Perfect.”