Christian Behaviors - Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

 Hello everyone and welcome back,

Last week I introduced this new series entitled, "Christian Behaviors. How to be like Jesus in a non-Jesus world". This week we'll look at one of our first behaviors or attitudes from Matthew 5:3.  But before we get there, I want to change the series title just a bit.  The new title is;

Christian Behaviors: How to LOVE like Jesus in a non-Jesus world. And that is only fitting, right? That is our command, to Love.

So, let's get started with this week's session from the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:3.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Let's break down a few of the supporting words, before we begin.

Beatitude: A state of bliss, happiness. The attitude you should be.

Blessed:  Happy, fortunate, well off

You'll also notice that all of the Beatitudes follow this pattern; Blessed are the SOMETHING, because a GOOD THING.  We will focus on the SOMETHINGs as the behaviors you should exhibit.

The word POOR is exactly what you'd expect, 

• Reduced to begging (asking alms)
• Destitute of wealth, influence, position, honor
• Lacking in anything

The next word we'll focus on is SPIRIT.  The Greek word used in this verse for spirit, is Pneuma. You may recognize this root word from a common English word today, pneumatic, which deals with air.  In the Biblical context, these are the definitions.

• 3rd Person of Trinity – Holy Spirit
• Vital principal by which the body is animated
• The power by which the body feels, thinks, decides
• Life Force from God

You'll find several times in the New Testament, that when referencing the Holy Spirit (part of the Trinity), the word will be capitalized as it is a proper noun, a name.  The same word is used when describing your spirit as well (not capitalized).  What I want you to zero in on today is that final definition, the life force from God.  This form of your spirit is that essence that makes you one with God, or the main component of your ability to commune or have a relationship with God.

The reason Jesus starts with this behavior is because all things you attempt or aspire to be must always start with your relationship with God.  Going back to Matthew 22:37, the greatest commandment is "Love the Lord, your God with all your heart, soul, and mind."  It always starts with God and how you approach Him.

To be poor in spirit doesn't mean you lack anything from God, it simply means you are not full up of what He has to offer.  You are destitute of his spiritual enrichment, or better yet, you are destitute compared to what there is available.

If you think you are “full”, you won’t keep looking for more of a relationship with God. If you think you are “rich” you may think you’ve succeeded or reached some pinnacle of achievement.  Remember, earthly accomplishments are not the goal. Reaching the Kingdom of Heaven is the ultimate goal - which just so happens to be the reward for those who are poor in spirit.

There is an old quote (I'm not sure who is first attributed with it), that goes like this;

“If you aren’t getting better, you’re getting worse.”

It means the status quo is not really the status quo.  If you aren't constantly striving to be better, then you are actually failing.  We all (Christians) seem to freely admit we are sinners.  We hear it all the time. I'm a sinner just like you.  (All for short of the glory of God - No one is righteous, no not one, and so on).  But how often do you really look at yourself from that perspective?  Do you consider yourself the same in God's eye because you "sin" is as bad as that person you see on the news network who has committed some crime, or that group you protest against because they are not like you or your church member friends?

Certainly there may differences between you and them here on earth, hopefully you never robbed a bank or some other crime.  But is earth the goal?  Does God not weep over them and love them as much as you? (for God so loved the world...).

If you think you are 'full up' when it comes to the spirit, you may just be letting pride get the best of you.  You may just be afraid of folks seeing the real you.  But God sees the real you.  

The laptop I'm writing this blog on right now contains images of the X-Men character Wolverine and the Star Wars character Darth Vader.  Those are really my favorites from those movies.  I'm always drawn to those types of characters that struggle mightily between good and evil.  Because to me that is real. It is a daily battle - and if you don't recognize that, your are in danger.

Have you ever heard the story about the two wolves living inside of you. One good and one evil. They battle every day. The question to the parable is, which wolf wins?  The answer is, the one you feed.  If you think your 'good wolf' is full, then you aren't feeding him.

I'll close with this scene from the movie "Avatar".  The main character, Jake, a former soldier, finds himself in a strange position of trying to learn the culture of an indigenous people on a far away planet.  Many scientists have failed before him to establish a good relationship with the tribe.  This is the dialog between him and the tribe elder, Moat. 

Scene from the movie "Avatar"

Jake: I came to learn.

Moat: It is hard to fill a cup which is already full.

Jake: My cup is empty.

So I ask you.  As you approach your daily activities, as you interact with others, as you evaluate the world around you, and as you 'judge' actions - is your cup already full or are you poor in spirit?

Love 

Rob

P.S. I've added an index of the posts in this series on the right hand menu bar.