Matthew 5:1-3- And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Attitude is crucial to maintain a real, personal relationship with God. Blessed means blissfully happy or contented. Poor means those who are so impoverished that they have to beg to survive. But there is one word in this that you must pay special attention to. Without this word, the verse would mean something entirely different. Can you guess it? Spirit!
Without that word, the verse would mean that all poor people go to heaven. We know that's not true. Salvation isn't based upon one's financial status.
A person who deems himself spiritually poor is a humble person who tries to enrich themselves in God's Word. Let me explain this better. A "rich" person doesn't spend time in God's word or prayer. Why would they? They have all they need. Or so they think. The devil has blinded their eyes to their need. And their pride has kept God from opening their eyes.
A "poor" person, however, desires to know more. They spend much time in prayer and God's word just to find a piece of truth. They humbly admit that they don't know what they should and so God shows them wonderful things.
You see, one must recognize a need before they will work to satisfy it. When we confess our hopeless spiritual deficiency to God, we can then receive the kingdom. Humility is needed to obtain salvation, But it also extends beyond that. The spiritually poor who faithfully allow God to have control of their lives will someday be rewarded with a reign in Christ's Millennial kingdom.
The poor in spirit know that they are and have nothing. They look to God in total submission to his will and in complete dependence upon his grace and mercy. Being humble before God means letting go of your pride.
A peacock is a beautiful bird. Yet it struts and prances around as if he wanted everyone to notice his beauty. It's as if the peacock things that he alone is responsible for his beauty. And sadly many Christian's act like this out of pride. God is responsible for our talents and achievements. He blesses us with all our abilities.
1 Cor. 4:7- For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
1 Pet. 5:5-6- Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Jesus wants us to have an attitude of humility. It is through his wisdom, strength, and ability that we can accomplish assignments in his service.
