Blessed are the poor in spirit. (Matthew 5:3) (Word Among US magazine)
It’s not surprising that most self-help materials on the market are geared toward doing exactly that: helping ourselves. Many of them promise to unlock our hidden potential or show us the happiness and riches that could be ours if we would stop putting off our dreams and start doing what we’ve always wanted to do. If we would just focus all our energies on obtaining our goals—even if it means forgetting about the people around us—we would be happy.
How different is Jesus’ prescription for self-help! To gain perfect happiness—for this is what “beatitude” really means—we need to become “poor in spirit.” We have to see that we need something outside of ourselves. We were made to be in relationships, first with our God but also with other people. To be poor in spirit means that we need to be enriched, that we don’t have all the resources for happiness within ourselves. It means acknowledging our emptiness.
But the beatitudes aren’t just a general call to humility. Even more importantly, they are an invitation to participate in the life of God’s kingdom in practical, everyday ways. For instance, as we perform works of mercy, we begin to embody the very mercy of God. As we strive to live a righteous life, we come closer to touching the holiness of the Lord. And as we live in purity of thought, word, and deed, we set ourselves free from distractions so that we can see the Lord more clearly both in our hearts and in the lives of those around us.
There is no magic formula for living a balanced, peaceful life—not in pop psychology or in the teachings of the Scriptures. The beatitudes are not just a better self-help program. Rather, they embody the wisdom of God—a wisdom that Jesus lived and taught to everyone. And this wisdom carries a powerful promise: The more we see ourselves as poor without Jesus, the more we will become rich with him. It’s that simple—and that challenging.
“Lord, help me to know the joy that comes from getting out of myself and using my gifts and talents for your kingdom.”
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1 comment:
Amen! So much of God is paradox: the poor will be rich; the last shall be first; and I am to help others in order to help myself.
It really is only the poor in spirit who will understand the richness of the beatitudes.
The prayer at the end of this post sums it up so well: if we would die to self, we would be more fully alive. Lord, have mercy on our stubbornness!
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